Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Grand Canyon Education position by 59.8% in the third quarter, selling 30,966 shares and retaining 20,782 shares valued at approximately $3.15 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 94.17%, although other investors—including Reinhart Partners, GAMMA Investing and Versant Capital—expanded their positions during the quarter.
• Grand Canyon Education reported quarterly EPS of $1.81, beating estimates of $1.67, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $264.05 million. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $160.67.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,966 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Grand Canyon Education worth $3,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOPE. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 219,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,329,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,085,326 shares of the company's stock worth $164,525,000 after buying an additional 202,399 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company's stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 617 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 15,074 shares of the company's stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE opened at $159.76 on Thursday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.27 and a 12 month high of $223.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.58.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 36.62%. The business had revenue of $264.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $185.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc NASDAQ: LOPE is an education services company that provides technology, operational and support services to colleges and universities. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional university, the company partners with higher education institutions to help them deliver online, hybrid and campus-based academic programs.

Its services include learning technology, digital course development, data analytics, marketing, student enrollment and support, financial aid assistance, faculty support, and other administrative functions.

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