Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOPE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.47. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.75.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

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