Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 140,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,573,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Laureate Education as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 3,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,049 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Laureate Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,180 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

LAUR stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.06. 934,077 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,058. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.23 and its 200 day moving average is $19.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.59. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $23.61.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $423.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $411.50 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 32.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laureate Education, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laureate Education

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total transaction of $9,098,917.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.