Smith Group Asset Management LLC Makes New $321,000 Investment in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Smith Group Asset Management LLC has made a new investment of $321,000 in Grand Canyon Education, purchasing 1,700 shares in the second quarter.
• The stock has seen various analyst ratings, with Weiss Ratings giving it a "buy (b+)" rating, while Zacks downgraded it to a "hold" rating.
• Grand Canyon Education reported a 12-month revenue growth of 8.8% and beat earnings estimates in its latest quarterly earnings, posting $1.53 earnings per share.

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 946,152 shares of the company's stock worth $163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 61,034 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 577,082 shares of the company's stock worth $99,656,000 after purchasing an additional 12,003 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 392,672 shares of the company's stock worth $74,215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,428 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,875 shares of the company's stock worth $64,169,000 after purchasing an additional 27,714 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 360,825 shares of the company's stock worth $62,430,000 after purchasing an additional 13,347 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOPE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.67.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of LOPE opened at $220.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.76. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.57 and a 12-month high of $221.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.87.

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

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