Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Price Target Raised to $186.00 at Robert W. Baird

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $170.00 to $186.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.26% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barrington Research raised their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $159.99. The stock had a trading volume of 214,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,278. Grand Canyon Education has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $161.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.20.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total value of $211,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,202,249.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted 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 acquiring an additional 19,577 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $1,440,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 22.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 219 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.