Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Receives $33.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LAUR shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th.

Laureate Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LAUR opened at $34.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22 and a beta of 0.60. Laureate Education has a 52 week low of $17.82 and a 52 week high of $35.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.51.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $400.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 12.86%.Laureate Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of Laureate Education in the third quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Laureate Education by 328.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Francis Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 2nd quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 26.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laureate Education Company Profile

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.