Fact based stock research
Laureate Education (NasdaqGS:LAUR)

US5186132032

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Laureate Education stock research in summary

laureate.net

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Laureate Education (Education Services, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Laureate Education are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 91 (better than 91% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 87), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 89), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on Laureate Education's financial characteristics. As the company Laureate Education's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 91), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 87), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 89), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of Laureate Education. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	91
Growth Rank	87
Safety Rank	89
Combined Rank	98

Country	USA
Industry	Education Services
Index	Dividends USA, NASDAQ
Size class	Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Laureate Education

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	84	97	92	91
GROWTH
GROWTH	21	43	83	87
SAFETY
SAFETY	67	74	73	89
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	56	70	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	83	98	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Laureate Education is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	84	97	92	91
GROWTH
GROWTH	21	43	83	87
SAFETY
SAFETY	67	74	73	89
COMBINED
COMBINED	67	85	100	98

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Laureate Education the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 91 (better than 91% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Laureate Education shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Laureate Education. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 69 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 69% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Laureate Education's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 47, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 47% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 64% of alternatives (only 36% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 3% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 91, is a buy recommendation based on Laureate Education's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	63	54	51	36
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	100	74	85	69
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	78	83	47	47
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	93	98	97
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	84	97	92	91

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Laureate Education; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 87 (better than 87% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Laureate Education shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Laureate Education. Profit Growth has a rank of 92 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 92% of its competitors. The same is valid for capital growth and stock returns. Capital Growth has a rank of 75, and Stock Returns has a rank of 85 which means that the stock returns have recently been above 85% of alternative investments. Only revenue growth is low with a Sales Growth has a rank of 34 (66% of its competitors are better). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 87, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. The many positive growth indicators indicate a positive growth momentum with only low revenue growth. That can also be attributed to divestments or the sale of unprofitable businesses. If that is the reason, overall growth is well on track to making this stock attractive for growth investors. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	10	19	52	34
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	n/a	78	77	92
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	20	59	75
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	33	81	85	85
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	21	43	83	87

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Laureate Education.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 89 (better than 89% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Laureate Education has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Laureate Education is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Laureate Education. Leverage is at a rank of 82, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 82% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 94, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 94% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 37, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 63% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 89 (better than 89% compared with alternatives), Laureate Education has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Laureate Education. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Laureate Education and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	100	70	70	82
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	4	72	32	37
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	95	64	94	94
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	67	74	73	89

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Laureate Education and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	81	85	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	66	100	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	20	13	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	56	70	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Laureate Education.
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