Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Takes Position in Laureate Education $LAUR

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 12.9% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 54,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 736.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 726,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,316,000 after buying an additional 639,726 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,132,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 244,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,526,000 after buying an additional 33,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAUR opened at $36.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Laureate Education has a 1 year low of $21.53 and a 1 year high of $40.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.47.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $272.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.06 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.07% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $41.50 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.88.

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.