Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 0.8 %

LOPE stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.02. The company had a trading volume of 404,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,016. Grand Canyon Education has a 1 year low of $126.17 and a 1 year high of $185.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $170.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LOPE. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,366.18. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.