Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Raised to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR – Get Rating) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “Laureate Education, Inc. is a degree-granting higher education institutions. The company offers high-quality undergraduate, graduate and specialized programs. Laureate Education, Inc. is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. “

Shares of NASDAQ LAUR opened at $11.33 on Wednesday. Laureate Education has a twelve month low of $9.41 and a twelve month high of $19.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.94 and a 200 day moving average of $12.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.18). Laureate Education had a negative return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $296.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.70 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Laureate Education news, COO Marcelo Cardoso sold 37,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.26, for a total transaction of $463,170.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eilif Serck-Hanssen sold 173,761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total transaction of $2,086,869.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAUR. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Laureate Education during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Laureate Education during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 3,860.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 5,443 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 1st quarter valued at $96,000.

About Laureate Education (Get Rating)

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company offers 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.

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