Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) PT Raised to $165.00 at Barrington Research

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Barrington Research from $160.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barrington Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.25% from the stock’s previous close.

LOPE has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 7.1 %

NASDAQ LOPE traded up $9.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.66. 313,861 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 199,975. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.26. Grand Canyon Education has a 12-month low of $99.65 and a 12-month high of $156.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.13. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The firm had revenue of $274.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grand Canyon Education

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.65, for a total transaction of $198,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 25,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,656.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 29.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 190.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,552,000 after buying an additional 17,108 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 25,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,523,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 17.2% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.