Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership Takes $14.41 Million Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership has acquired a stake worth approximately $14.41 million in Grand Canyon Education, Inc., making it the firm's 18th largest holding.
• Other institutional investors such as GAMMA Investing LLC and Allianz Asset Management GmbH have significantly increased their positions in Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from the investment community.
• Analysts have mixed projections for the stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $203.67, despite a recent rating downgrade from BMO Capital Markets.

Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 83,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,408,000. Grand Canyon Education accounts for 2.1% of Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership owned 0.29% of Grand Canyon Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 22,988.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 205,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,594,000 after acquiring an additional 204,830 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 79.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,244 shares of the company's stock worth $66,828,000 after acquiring an additional 171,261 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth about $26,238,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $20,906,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1,157.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,205,000 after purchasing an additional 91,532 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 1.4%

LOPE stock opened at $202.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.80. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $207.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $186.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.48.

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LOPE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.