Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE) by 2.4%, selling 1,400 shares and leaving it with a total of 56,500 shares valued at $9,776,000.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Grand Canyon Education, with T. Rowe Price and Allianz Asset Management notably boosting their holdings by millions.
• Grand Canyon Education reported higher-than-expected earnings of $1.53 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting an 8.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Grand Canyon Education worth $9,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter worth about $86,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 93,468 shares of the company's stock worth $16,172,000 after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 95.9% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 24,336 shares of the company's stock worth $4,211,000 after buying an additional 11,915 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter worth about $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE traded down $1.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.09. The company had a trading volume of 57,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,558. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.79. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $130.69 and a one year high of $203.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.13.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $247.50 million during 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 last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.