Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Laureate Education $LAUR

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Laureate Education, acquiring an additional 49,872 shares, raising their ownership to approximately 96,536 shares.
• Laureate Education reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.79, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.73, with a revenue of $524.20 million.
• Several analysts upgraded Laureate Education’s rating, with Wall Street Zen moving it to a "strong-buy" and BMO Capital Markets increasing their target price to $24.00.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 106.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 96,536 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,872 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Laureate Education worth $1,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAUR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laureate Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $408,000. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Laureate Education by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 16,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Laureate Education by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 78,363 shares of the company's stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 172,313 shares of the company's stock worth $3,152,000 after acquiring an additional 79,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Laureate Education by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,663,351 shares of the company's stock worth $30,424,000 after buying an additional 263,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAUR traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.48. 920,095 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 895,455. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.40 and its 200 day moving average is $21.96. Laureate Education has a one year low of $14.45 and a one year high of $27.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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.