Erste Asset Management GmbH Trims Stock Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 42.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,333 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4,339.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 14.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 115,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,985,000 after purchasing an additional 15,019 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 156.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 22,812 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOPE. Wall Street Zen downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE opened at $159.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.37 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.92 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 33.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education Profile

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.