Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,666 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $5,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LOPE. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 523.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 194,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,370,000 after buying an additional 163,397 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $22,964,000 after buying an additional 135,385 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,280,000 after buying an additional 124,769 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,628,000 after buying an additional 113,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 613,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,010,000 after buying an additional 90,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LOPE opened at $156.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.23. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.37 and a twelve month high of $223.04.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.