Candriam S.C.A. Purchases New Shares in Laureate Education $LAUR

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. acquired 198,989 shares of Laureate Education, valued at approximately $4,069,000, representing about 0.13% of the company's total shares.
• Laureate Education reported a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 29.46%, with a quarterly revenue increase of 5.0% compared to the same period last year.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from analysts, with a price target increase to $24.00 from BMO Capital Markets.

Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 198,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,069,000. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Laureate Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Laureate Education during the first quarter worth $62,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Laureate Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $93,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Laureate Education by 260.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1,875.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LAUR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.46. The stock had a trading volume of 177,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,169. Laureate Education has a twelve month low of $14.45 and a twelve month high of $27.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average price is $24.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.54.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $524.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $502.00 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 29.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAUR. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Laureate Education Profile

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.