Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Hits New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $185.66 and last traded at $185.52, with a volume of 174970 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $183.70.

The company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.91% and a net margin of 21.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LOPE. Barrington Research increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,366.18. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,870,000 after purchasing an additional 189,843 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 885,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,982,000 after purchasing an additional 14,667 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 883,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,159 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,878,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,033,000 after buying an additional 39,136 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.40.

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.