Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Laureate Education from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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 Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.87 and its 200 day moving average is $15.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.82.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 27.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Laureate Education, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,231,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,350,000 after buying an additional 136,865 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 81.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 156,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 70,121 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the 1st quarter valued at $11,241,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 207.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 824,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,703,000 after purchasing an additional 556,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 56.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 330,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,936,000 after buying an additional 119,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

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.