Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $141.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.69. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $111.65 and a 1-year high of $157.53.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the second quarter worth about $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,180,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after buying an additional 11,251 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,077,000 after buying an additional 39,743 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 7.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,865,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.