Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 28.7% in Q4, selling 15,410 shares and finishing the period with 38,240 shares (about 0.14% ownership, ~$6.37M).
• Grand Canyon Education topped quarterly estimates with $3.21 EPS (vs. $3.19 expected) and $308.12M revenue, showing a 5.3% YoY revenue rise and strong profitability (ROE 33.28%, net margin 19.54%); analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.00.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 94.17%, and several institutions increased holdings—most notably Principal Financial, Van Berkom, Allianz, and the State of Alaska Department of Revenue, which grew its stake by 252.6% in Q4.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,410 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.14% of Grand Canyon Education worth $6,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 7.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,278 shares of the company's stock worth $22,233,000 after acquiring an additional 7,167 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 3.0% during the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 523,305 shares of the company's stock worth $114,876,000 after acquiring an additional 15,235 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 3.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 405,506 shares of the company's stock worth $89,017,000 after acquiring an additional 12,834 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 252.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,106 shares of the company's stock worth $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth about $2,030,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of LOPE opened at $165.40 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $166.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.37 and a 1-year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $307.92 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 33.28% and a net margin of 19.54%.Grand Canyon Education's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LOPE shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.00.

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.

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