Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Earns "Buy (B+)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Grand Canyon Education's stock has received a "Buy (B+)" rating from Weiss Ratings and is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by market analysts with an average price target of $208.67.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.53 in its last quarterly results, surpassing expectations and reflecting an 8.8% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 94.17% of Grand Canyon Education's stock, indicating strong backing from major financial entities.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b+)" rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LOPE. Wall Street Zen upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered Grand Canyon Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of LOPE traded up $5.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.76. 94,491 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,592. Grand Canyon Education has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $220.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50-day moving average price is $205.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.86.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.50% and a net margin of 22.15%.The company had revenue of $247.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the second quarter worth $65,736,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 57.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 560,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,853,000 after acquiring an additional 204,582 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter valued at $33,910,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 79.7% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,828,000 after acquiring an additional 171,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at $20,906,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by 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.

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