Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Laureate Education has a consensus “Hold” rating from seven analysts, with four buys, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $40.50 versus the stock’s $37.62 opening price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.00 in earnings per share versus the $0.96 consensus and $615.9 million in revenue versus $607.56 million expected. Revenue increased 17.5% year over year, while fiscal 2026 guidance was set at $2.04–$2.10 EPS.
• Institutional investors own 96.27% of LAUR, with several funds—including AQR Capital Management and Jane Street—recently increasing their positions.

Shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.50.

LAUR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut Laureate Education from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $34.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barrington Research initiated coverage on Laureate Education in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Laureate Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Laureate Education Price Performance

LAUR stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.85. Laureate Education has a one year low of $24.98 and a one year high of $40.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.40.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $615.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.56 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 23.54%. Laureate Education's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.040-2.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAUR. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Laureate Education by 48.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 156,668 shares of the company's stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 51,337 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Laureate Education by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 98,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 407,255 shares of the company's stock worth $8,328,000 after buying an additional 27,978 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 163,912 shares of the company's stock worth $3,352,000 after buying an additional 105,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 66,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,369,000 after buying an additional 11,170 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc NASDAQ: LAUR is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.

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