Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 180.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,966 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,176 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Grand Canyon Education worth $38,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOPE. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4,339.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 115,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,985,000 after purchasing an additional 15,019 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,421 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 156.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 22,812 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $166.54 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.37 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.25. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.72.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 33.28% and a net margin of 19.54%.The firm had revenue of $308.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LOPE. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grand Canyon Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.