Grand Canyon Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE): Discount Stock With Low PEG and High Growth
Grand Canyon Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE): Discount Stock With Low PEG and High Growth
Broadband and hardware technology has so progressed in the past 10 years that Internet usage in the American home has jumped from 40 percent at the turn of the century to an astounding 80 percent today. We use our computers to do everything from shop online to attend college. In fact, the online education sector of the market has seen phenomenal growth during the increased Internet penetration of the last decade and it shows no signs of slowing down. One in three students take online courses today and that statistic will soon hit one in two. Companies that specialize in online classes for graduate and undergraduate students are in one of the fastest growing niches in the market and among the most successful businesses. This article reviews one of the better small-cap choices, Grand Canyon Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE).
LOPE provides online postsecondary educational services on the postgraduate and graduate levels. Offerings aside, what may be most attractive to investors is that this is a discount stock with a low PEG of .80. So here are some numbers to consider as you look at this play.
LOPE has a low debt equity of only 0.13 and an extremely low forward P/E of 13.90. The company shows strong growth on all key parameters with the average annual earnings growth for the past five years at a whopping 257.09 percent. Annual sales growth for the past five years was also especially high at 42.70 percent. Earnings growth estimates for the next five years is, again, high at 20.83 percent. Of the twelve analysts covering the stock, seven rate it as a strong buy, four rate it as a buy and only one rates it as a hold.
Q3 2012 numbers look very nice indeed. Net revenue increased 22.6 percent. Operating income increased by 51 percent and operating margin was 23.4 percent compared to same quarter 2011 of 19 percent. Net income was up 43.5 percent and diluted net income per share was $0.41 as opposed to $0.29 for Q3 2011.
Colorado Canyon is an attractive prospect when you take into consideration the very low multiples, high growth and growth potential, along with analyst’s recommendations. Numbers rarely lie and this is one play that the stars are in alignment with. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion and is currently trading at $25.07.
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I expect that when you bring up figures, you should compare them against the industry standard, at least. How am I supposed to know that these numbers are good without seeing numbers from competitors? From the look of things, LOPE looks good, but this article would be more complete if you compared this trend with that of a competitor.
I think the low PEG speaks volumes. Also the fact that the sector is growing at such a rapid pace should be taken into consideration here. Will watch this.
You’re right. The sector is growing. This does not translate to growth for LOPE. Mind you, there are several players in this sector. I think a comparison will be helpful to determine if LOPE is growing in the sector.
I suspect this is why the article suggests you research prior to investing. The numbers cited denote individual company growth. IMHO.
The title of the article has something of the sort: “HIGH GROWTH” in it. So I think the article show me how it’s growing relative to competitors. Just my idea a complete stock article.
Good collection of articles, very interesting information
Impressive numbers. I smell a good play.
Low PEG and High Growth. This means that PE will be lower in the future. Looks attractive for me. Guys do you think these 200%+ growth too good to be true?
Seems to be quite a bit of it going around.
Could it be that analysts are just too bullish with this stock? I would like to see how sustainable will the 200% growth over the next few years.
200 percent growth is impressive. Nonetheless, how is it performing relative to its competitors? Perhaps the triple digit growth figures could be an industry wide phenomena. I will do some more research on the same. All said, good read.
A 200 percent growth is impressive under any circumstances.