Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 38,301 shares of Grand Canyon Education, valued at approximately $5.48 million, giving it a 0.15% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.17% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.67, although some firms recently lowered ratings or targets.
• Grand Canyon Education exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.81 in EPS versus the $1.67 estimate and $264.05 million in revenue, up 6.7% year over year.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,481,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Grand Canyon Education at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 4,339.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 115,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,985,000 after acquiring an additional 15,019 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the company's stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,214 shares of the company's stock worth $21,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 156.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,350 shares of the company's stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 22,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Grand Canyon Education from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price objective on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE opened at $152.45 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.27 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.58.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 36.62% and a net margin of 19.63%.The firm had revenue of $264.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

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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