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

Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $161.6667.

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

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $147.46 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education has a fifty-two week low of $134.27 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04. The firm has a market capitalization 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.08.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.