Laureate Education $LAUR Stake Lifted by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,131 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,646 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Laureate Education worth $8,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LAUR. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laureate Education during the 3rd quarter worth $956,000. Point Nemo Capital LLC lifted its position in Laureate Education by 4.9% in the third quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 46,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 10.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 16,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 1.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 45,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 11.0% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 20,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laureate Education Stock Up 2.9%

LAUR stock opened at $34.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Laureate Education has a 12 month low of $24.98 and a 12 month high of $40.92.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $485.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.16 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 26.41%. Laureate Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LAUR shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Laureate Education from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Barrington Research began coverage on Laureate Education in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laureate Education from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Laureate Education from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total transaction of $15,483,708.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,646,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,695,708.24. This represents a 20.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 521,229 shares of company stock worth $19,103,350. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc operates a network of private higher education institutions in Mexico and Peru. Its principal institutions are Universidad del Valle de México (UVM) and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC).

The company offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as other academic and professional education, across fields that include business, health sciences, engineering and technology. Its institutions serve students through campus-based and digital learning options.

Laureate traces its origins to Sylvan Learning Systems, founded in 1989, and later expanded internationally under the Laureate International Universities name.