Skylands Capital LLC Has $7.89 Million Stock Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Skylands Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,415 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $7,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 4,339.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 115,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,985,000 after buying an additional 15,019 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.3% in 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 valued at $21,318,000 after buying an additional 8,421 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 22,812 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price objective on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $145.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.56 and a 200-day moving average of $163.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.56. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.02 and a 52 week high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS 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.