Vestcor Inc Acquires 1,919 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. by 31.4%, acquiring an additional 1,919 shares to hold a total of 8,037 shares, valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Norges Bank and T. Rowe Price, have recently made significant purchases or increases in their stakes in Grand Canyon Education, reflecting a strong interest in the company.
• Grand Canyon Education reported $2.57 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a 21.94% net margin and an expected 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 31.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,870,000 after buying an additional 189,843 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 885,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,982,000 after purchasing an additional 14,667 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,706 shares of the company's stock worth $81,033,000 after buying an additional 39,136 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 79.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,244 shares of the company's stock worth $66,828,000 after buying an additional 171,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 10.7% during the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 366,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,393,000 after acquiring an additional 35,446 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE traded down $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 71,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,820. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.82 and a 200-day moving average of $179.60. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.69 and a 12 month high of $202.28.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.06. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 30.94%. The business had revenue of $289.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $287.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.