Northern Trust Corp Acquires 27,714 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. by 8.1%, owning a total of 370,875 shares valued at approximately $64 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• During the same quarter, other institutions like GAMMA Investing LLC and Allianz Asset Management made significant increases to their investments in Grand Canyon Education, showcasing strong institutional interest in the company.
• Grand Canyon Education reported earnings of $1.53 per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting an 8.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,875 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,714 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.30% of Grand Canyon Education worth $64,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LOPE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 22,988.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 205,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,594,000 after acquiring an additional 204,830 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 79.7% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,828,000 after acquiring an additional 171,261 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,238,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $20,906,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1,157.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,205,000 after acquiring an additional 91,532 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grand Canyon Education has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 0.4%

LOPE traded up $0.83 on Friday, hitting $201.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 331,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,859. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $184.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.69 and a 12 month high of $207.12.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $247.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.90 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 31.50%. Grand Canyon Education's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Equities 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.