Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Stock Holdings Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,278 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,167 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.36% of Grand Canyon Education worth $22,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 20.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 296,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,965,000 after purchasing an additional 49,562 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the second quarter valued at about $852,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 258,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,868,000 after buying an additional 67,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 53,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,777,000 after buying an additional 7,095 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $169.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.22 and a 200-day moving average of $185.01. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.83 and a 1-year high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78. The firm had revenue of $261.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.97 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 32.41% and a net margin of 19.38%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LOPE. Weiss Ratings cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grand Canyon Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.