Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Shares in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,360,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,493,000 after buying an additional 99,320 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,980,000 after acquiring an additional 153,189 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 613,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,010,000 after acquiring an additional 90,070 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 578,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,163,000 after acquiring an additional 26,593 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 135.3% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 518,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,303,000 after acquiring an additional 298,409 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 2.9%

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $152.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.37 and a 200-day moving average of $163.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.02 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $308.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.75 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 34.72% and a net margin of 19.54%.Grand Canyon Education’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

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.