UBS Group AG Boosts Stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• UBS Group AG sharply increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 523.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 194,634 shares valued at about $32.4 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed but constructive: analysts currently rate LOPE as a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $220, after recent hold and outperform calls.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $308.76 million rising 6.7% year over year.

UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 523.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 194,634 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 163,397 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.70% of Grand Canyon Education worth $32,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 10,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,820,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 308.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 47,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,954,000 after buying an additional 36,105 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.37 and a 1 year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.08. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 34.72% and a net margin of 19.54%.The company had revenue of $308.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $307.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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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