Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Sold by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Key Points

• Riverbridge Partners trimmed its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 10.5%, selling 99,959 shares; it now holds 853,107 shares worth about $141.9M, making LOPE its seventh-largest position.
• Grand Canyon Education slightly beat the quarter with EPS $3.21 vs. $3.19 estimated and revenue of $308.12M (+5.3% YoY); analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $220.
• Institutional ownership is 94.17%, and other large funds (Burgundy, AQR, Invesco) have recently increased positions—Invesco boosted its stake by 57.5%.

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 853,107 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,959 shares during the period. Grand Canyon Education accounts for about 2.7% of Riverbridge Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 3.05% of Grand Canyon Education worth $141,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.9% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 982,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36,546 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 597,567 shares of the company's stock worth $112,940,000 after purchasing an additional 20,485 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 560,068 shares of the company's stock worth $105,853,000 after purchasing an additional 204,582 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 523,305 shares of the company's stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 15,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 405,506 shares of the company's stock worth $89,017,000 after purchasing an additional 12,834 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $169.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $166.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.56. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.37 and a 12-month high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 33.28%. The company had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Grand Canyon Education's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.

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