Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,982 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 984,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,070,000 after purchasing an additional 26,647 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 871,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,904,000 after acquiring an additional 92,445 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 429,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,241,000 after acquiring an additional 59,089 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 384,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,884,000 after purchasing an additional 4,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 310,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,275,000 after purchasing an additional 5,872 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE opened at $149.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $133.57 and a 200-day moving average of $132.48. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.65 and a 1-year high of $156.56.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $274.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.42 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Grand Canyon Education

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.65, for a total value of $198,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 25,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,405,656.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday.

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.