Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $174.95 on Thursday. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $127.65 and a 1-year high of $192.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.62 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOPE. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 107.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 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.