Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 50,367 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. by 7.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 2.32% of the company post-sale.
• Grand Canyon Education reported earnings of $1.53 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $247.50 million, indicating an 8.8% year-over-year growth.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Grand Canyon Education, with target prices ranging from $210.00 to $215.00 set by various investment firms.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 659,807 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,367 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.32% of Grand Canyon Education worth $114,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $38,066,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 22,988.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 205,721 shares of the company's stock worth $35,594,000 after purchasing an additional 204,830 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 79.7% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,244 shares of the company's stock worth $66,828,000 after purchasing an additional 171,261 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $26,238,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter worth $20,906,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, reaching $204.15. 72,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 219,637. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day moving average is $183.44 and its 200-day moving average is $181.95. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $130.69 and a one year high of $207.12.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $247.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.90 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 31.50%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services.