Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, a drop of 20.4% from the December 31st total of 3,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 615,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Laureate Education Trading Down 1.8 %

LAUR stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.72. The stock had a trading volume of 564,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,620. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Laureate Education has a 12-month low of $12.52 and a 12-month high of $19.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.87.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.40. Laureate Education had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 27.13%. The company had revenue of $368.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Laureate Education news, Director Corro Pedro Del sold 25,000 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $489,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,251.88. The trade was a 45.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Laureate Education by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 74,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Laureate Education by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 62,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Laureate Education by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. 96.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.