Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $141.35 on Tuesday. Grand Canyon Education has a 1 year low of $112.38 and a 1 year high of $157.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.01 and its 200-day moving average is $140.04. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.69.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 243.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth approximately $727,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959 shares in 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.