Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $180.98 and last traded at $175.82, with a volume of 23127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Monday.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.27.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The business had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOPE. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $1,867,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,092,000 after buying an additional 19,577 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 9.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 66,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,385,000 after purchasing an additional 5,902 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.