Barrington Research Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Barrington Research in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research's price target suggests a potential upside of 17.60% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of LOPE traded down $4.35 on Tuesday, reaching $174.32. 182,086 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,647. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $174.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The company 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%. Analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,838,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth $38,066,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 22,988.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 205,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,594,000 after buying an additional 204,830 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company's stock worth $247,870,000 after buying an additional 189,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth about $26,238,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.