Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Laureate Education recently achieved a new 52-week high of $24.61, up from a previous close of $24.47, with a trading volume of 36,460 shares.
• Analysts have upgraded Laureate's rating, with BMO Capital Markets raising the target price to $24.00 and Wall Street Zen shifting from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating.
• In its latest earnings report, Laureate Education posted an EPS of $0.79, surpassing expectations, as revenue increased by 5.0% year-over-year to $524.20 million.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $24.57 and last traded at $24.61, with a volume of 36460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd.

Laureate Education Stock Up 0.7%

The business's 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average is $21.09. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Laureate Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,637,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,976,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,150,013 shares of the company's stock worth $43,968,000 after buying an additional 388,143 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,060,176 shares of the company's stock worth $267,081,000 after purchasing an additional 387,567 shares during the period. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1,945.0% during the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 364,869 shares of the company's stock worth $7,462,000 after purchasing an additional 347,027 shares during the period. 96.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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