Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Laureate Education's stock reached a new 52-week high at $27.46, closing at $27.34 with substantial trading volume.
• BMO Capital Markets and Wall Street Zen have upgraded their price targets and ratings for Laureate Education, with a consensus price target now set at $24.00.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.79, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.0%.

Shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.46 and last traded at $27.34, with a volume of 746750 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research 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 company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $24.00.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $24.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.04.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $524.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Laureate Education in the 1st quarter worth $36,637,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 510.4% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,214,700 shares of the company's stock worth $28,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,711 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Laureate Education by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,133,000 after buying an additional 685,998 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,976,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Laureate Education by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,503,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,669,000 after buying an additional 458,202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Company 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.