Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,766,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,084 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Grand Canyon Education worth $460,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5,029.2% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 138,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,964,000 after acquiring an additional 135,385 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,280,000 after purchasing an additional 124,769 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 180.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,628,000 after purchasing an additional 113,176 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth $10,730,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 156,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,957,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $169.25 on Wednesday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.37 and a twelve month high of $223.04. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.48.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.08. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 34.72%. The business had revenue of $308.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOPE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.