Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Updates Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 3.570-3.850 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Grand Canyon Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.550-10.160 EPS.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE stock traded down $6.79 on Thursday, reaching $161.00. 111,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,233. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education has a 12 month low of $149.83 and a 12 month high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 32.41% and a net margin of 19.38%.The firm had revenue of $308.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LOPE. Weiss Ratings cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grand Canyon Education presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Grand Canyon Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 operational strength — Management highlighted continued strong enrollment growth and year‑over‑year revenue and EPS gains, supporting the company’s core growth story. Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results roughly in line — Reported revenue around $308.1M and diluted EPS near $3.20, showing mid-single‑digit revenue growth and an EPS increase year over year, which supports longer‑term profitability metrics. PR Newswire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call transcript available — Management commentary and Q&A give detail on enrollments, margins and partner university activity for investors wanting color beyond headline numbers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Results reporting nuance — Some outlets note a slight miss vs certain third‑party consensus estimates on revenue/EPS depending on data vendor; overall quarter described as modestly positive. Quiver Quant Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term guidance cut — Management set Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance (2.70–2.73) well below the prior consensus (~3.19) and trimmed Q2 guidance too; FY2026 guidance (9.55–10.16) sits slightly under the consensus of ~10.00. This guidance revision is the primary driver of negative sentiment and intraday selling. Guidance in PR Release
• Negative Sentiment: Weaker cash position and balance‑sheet notes — Reported operating cash flow dipped and cash & equivalents declined materially year‑over‑year, while liabilities rose; investors may view this as a potential liquidity/working‑capital concern. Quiver Quant Cash/Balance Sheet

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,980,000 after buying an additional 153,189 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 483,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,358,000 after purchasing an additional 156,777 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 6,102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 480,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,905,000 after purchasing an additional 472,714 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 339,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,930,000 after buying an additional 80,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 323,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,772,000 after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

About Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides a suite of higher‐education services through a long-term agreement with Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest private Christian universities. The company’s offerings encompass a full range of academic and operational support functions, including enrollment management, student recruitment, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and technology infrastructure. Through its online program management capabilities, Grand Canyon Education helps design, market and deliver undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to meet the needs of both traditional and non‐traditional learners.

Core services include digital marketing, admissions support, student success coaching, learning management systems and faculty recruitment.