UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Stock Price

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.95% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LAUR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Laureate Education Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LAUR traded up $0.25 on Monday, hitting $29.28. 1,686,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 915,949. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.15. Laureate Education has a 1 year low of $16.81 and a 1 year high of $32.42.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 22.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 328.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 260.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Laureate Education during the 2nd quarter worth $108,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.