Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Position Cut by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 28.1%, now holding approximately 1.25% of the company worth $61.51 million after selling 139,220 shares.
• Grand Canyon Education reported $1.53 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.16 and experiencing an 8.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Major institutional investments include Sterling Capital increasing its position by 44.7% and Barclays PLC raising its stake by 152.3% in recent months.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,486 shares of the company's stock after selling 139,220 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.25% of Grand Canyon Education worth $61,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 58.2% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 261 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 107.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOPE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE stock traded up $3.76 on Thursday, reaching $205.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,995. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.69 and a 52 week high of $205.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.47.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.16. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.50% and a net margin of 22.15%.The business had revenue of $247.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.