Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $172.52 on Thursday. Grand Canyon Education has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $172.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.75.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 3rd quarter worth $1,867,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 20.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,092,000 after purchasing an additional 19,577 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $1,440,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.