Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.49 and last traded at $18.38, with a volume of 2963 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LAUR shares. Morgan Stanley cut Laureate Education from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Laureate Education from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Laureate Education Stock Up 3.1 %

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.37. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.82.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $368.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.80 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 27.13% and a net margin of 15.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Laureate Education, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,231,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,350,000 after purchasing an additional 136,865 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Laureate Education by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 6,951,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,860,000 after buying an additional 151,397 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 2,927,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,737,000 after buying an additional 104,232 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 225.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,513,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 2,170,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,431,000 after acquiring an additional 48,635 shares during the last quarter. 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.