Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,341 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Grand Canyon Education worth $11,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Convergence Financial LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 244.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $421,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $528,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOPE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $172.79 on Monday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $202.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $189.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education 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.