16,618 Shares in Laureate Education $LAUR Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 510.4% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,214,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,711 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Laureate Education by 113.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after purchasing an additional 685,998 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Laureate Education by 22.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,503,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,669,000 after purchasing an additional 458,202 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Laureate Education during the second quarter worth about $5,634,000. Finally, CW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laureate Education during the second quarter worth about $3,284,000. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Laureate Education from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of LAUR opened at $35.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $32.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.39. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $36.34.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.77 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 12.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Laureate Education Company Profile

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.