Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Laureate Education $LAUR

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Laureate Education by 5.2%, making it one of the largest positions in its portfolio, valued at approximately $30.5 million.
• Laureate Education reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.73, along with a 5.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Shares of Laureate Education were upgraded from "hold" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, now holding an average target price of $24.00 from analysts.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,489,257 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 74,060 shares during the quarter. Laureate Education comprises 2.0% of Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned 0.99% of Laureate Education worth $30,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAUR. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Laureate Education by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,513 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 52,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Laureate Education by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in Laureate Education by 2.5% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 52,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Laureate Education Trading Up 4.6%

LAUR traded up $1.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.03. 1,059,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,354. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Laureate Education has a one year low of $14.77 and a one year high of $29.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.58.

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

About Laureate Education

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.