Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Purchased by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Key Points

• Harel Insurance boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 53.5%, acquiring 17,432 shares to hold 50,036 shares (about $8.32M or 0.18% of the company) at the end of the quarter.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 94.17%, and several other institutions initiated small positions in recent quarters, indicating continued institutional interest.
• Analysts have an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $220, and the company recently beat quarterly estimates with $2.86 EPS (vs. $2.78 est.) and $308.8M revenue; market cap is about $4.49B and P/E is 21.16.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,036 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,432 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned 0.18% of Grand Canyon Education worth $8,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at $55,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LOPE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $169.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.62. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $149.37 and a one year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $308.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.75 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 34.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.

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