Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 5,150 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. by 8.0%, owning approximately $10.18 million worth of shares after selling 5,150 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors have made significant changes to their positions, with Barclays PLC increasing its stake by 152.3% during the fourth quarter.
• Grand Canyon Education's latest performance report surpassed earnings expectations, reporting $1.53 EPS for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.37.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,835 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,150 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.21% of Grand Canyon Education worth $10,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 261 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 318 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LOPE. Barrington Research reissued 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 decreased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE traded down $1.84 on Friday, reaching $203.39. The stock had a trading volume of 292,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,301. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.64. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.69 and a 1-year high of $207.12. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.79.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.16. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts predict 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.