Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Lifted 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 Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LOPE. Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $137.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.66. Grand Canyon Education has a 52-week low of $112.38 and a 52-week high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total value of $211,845.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 14,150.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 710.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 85,200.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 853 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.