Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $34.45 and last traded at $34.3110, with a volume of 117701 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAUR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.38.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 12.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Laureate Education declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 1,060.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661,417 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Laureate Education in the third quarter valued at $54,859,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Laureate Education by 510.4% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,214,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,401,000 after buying an additional 1,015,711 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Laureate Education by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,133,000 after buying an additional 685,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Laureate Education by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,503,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,669,000 after buying an additional 458,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.