Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $161.6667.

LOPE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barrington Research set a $200.00 target price on Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $147.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.08. Grand Canyon Education has a 1 year low of $134.27 and a 1 year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 36.62%. The firm had revenue of $264.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 5.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 48.9% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.0% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 67 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 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.