Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Given New $202.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $181.00 to $202.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on LOPE. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $181.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.04 and a 200 day moving average of $155.79. Grand Canyon Education has a 52 week low of $126.17 and a 52 week high of $192.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.74.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share 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 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 138.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 9.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 66,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,385,000 after purchasing an additional 5,902 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14,085.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 21,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,980,000 after purchasing an additional 20,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.