Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Sets New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $20.75 and last traded at $21.02, with a volume of 196330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.12.

The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.20. Laureate Education had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 27.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Corro Pedro Del sold 25,000 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total transaction of $489,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,251.88. This trade represents a 45.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Laureate Education by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in Laureate Education by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 3,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Laureate Education by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Laureate Education in the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Laureate Education by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laureate Education Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.33.

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.