Wasatch Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 24.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,960 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,758 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $56,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 48.9% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $144.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.27 and a 1-year high of $223.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.66.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 36.62%. The business had revenue of $264.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.87 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price target on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.67.

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.