Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,341 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $57,838,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,870,000 after buying an additional 189,843 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 392,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,786,000 after buying an additional 159,827 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,262,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 113,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,541,000 after acquiring an additional 57,325 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 research firms have recently issued reports on LOPE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE stock opened at $174.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.17 and a 12 month high of $192.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.85.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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.