Reviewing Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) & Its Competitors

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) is one of 165 publicly-traded companies in the “Diversified Consumer Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Grand Canyon Education to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Grand Canyon Education and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grand Canyon Education	$1.11 billion	$216.17 million	12.88
Grand Canyon Education Competitors	$3.27 billion	$221.82 million	15.43

Grand Canyon Education’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Grand Canyon Education. Grand Canyon Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

Grand Canyon Education has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grand Canyon Education’s rivals have a beta of 0.53, suggesting that their average stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Grand Canyon Education and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grand Canyon Education	21.85%	37.61%	27.42%
Grand Canyon Education Competitors	-7.73%	-67.68%	0.29%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.2% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Grand Canyon Education and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grand Canyon Education	0	1	3	0	2.75
Grand Canyon Education Competitors	1442	3455	5299	197	2.41

Grand Canyon Education currently has a consensus target price of $187.33, indicating a potential upside of 55.33%. As a group, “Diversified Consumer Services” companies have a potential upside of 63.61%. Given Grand Canyon Education’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Grand Canyon Education has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Grand Canyon Education beats its rivals on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is an education services company that provides technology, academic, and operational support to colleges and universities. Its services include online learning platforms, enrollment and student support, curriculum development, marketing, and other administrative functions. The company’s primary relationship is with Grand Canyon University (GCU), a private university based in Phoenix, Arizona. GCE has provided services to GCU under a long-term agreement since the university became a nonprofit institution in 2018.