Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $139.55 and last traded at $146.2330, with a volume of 164129 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $149.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOPE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price target on Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.67.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 6.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $151.79 and its 200-day moving average is $162.48.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.08. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 34.72%. The firm had revenue of $308.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 252.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 11,538 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,338,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 9,701 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 523.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 194,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,370,000 after purchasing an additional 163,397 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1,060.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides a suite of higher‐education services through a long-term agreement with Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest private Christian universities. The company’s offerings encompass a full range of academic and operational support functions, including enrollment management, student recruitment, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and technology infrastructure. Through its online program management capabilities, Grand Canyon Education helps design, market and deliver undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to meet the needs of both traditional and non‐traditional learners.

Core services include digital marketing, admissions support, student success coaching, learning management systems and faculty recruitment.