HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 29.5%, now holding shares worth approximately $943,000.
• Significant institutional investment activity occurred, with over 94.17% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors, including a new position by Public Sector Pension Investment Board valued at about $9.2 million.
• Recent earnings reported a $1.53 earnings per share, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.8%.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,449 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,278 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 58.2% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 261 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 107.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at $65,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE traded up $0.83 on Monday, hitting $201.57. 331,607 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,859. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $184.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.36. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.69 and a fifty-two week high of $207.12. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Grand Canyon Education 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.