Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 36,105 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 308.1%, buying 36,105 shares in Q4 to hold 47,824 shares (about 0.17% of the company) worth roughly $7.95 million.
• Several other institutions — notably M&T Bank, Millennium, Pacer and American Century — also materially increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at about 94.17%.
• Grand Canyon slightly beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.21 vs. $3.19; revenue $308.1M, +5.3% YoY), has a $4.44B market cap, and carries a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $220 price target.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 308.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,824 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,105 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.17% of Grand Canyon Education worth $7,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOPE. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5,029.2% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 138,077 shares of the company's stock worth $22,964,000 after buying an additional 135,385 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,710 shares of the company's stock worth $62,280,000 after buying an additional 124,769 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2,453.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 126,024 shares of the company's stock worth $27,665,000 after buying an additional 121,089 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,966 shares of the company's stock worth $38,628,000 after buying an additional 113,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,730,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $163.49 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.37 and a twelve month high of $223.04. The stock's 50 day moving average is $165.92 and its 200-day moving average is $172.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.67.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 33.28% and a net margin of 19.54%.The company had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOPE. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.00.

About Grand Canyon Education

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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