Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LOPE. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $143.49. 104,133 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,449. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.89. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. Grand Canyon Education has a 1 year low of $108.24 and a 1 year high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.81% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In other Grand Canyon Education news, Director Lisa Graham Keegan sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.96, for a total value of $39,949.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,874.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.3% in the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 2,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 12,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

About Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services.