Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Purchased by Man Group plc

Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,565 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.11% of Grand Canyon Education worth $5,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at $57,838,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at $38,066,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,870,000 after acquiring an additional 189,843 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 392,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,786,000 after acquiring an additional 159,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at $10,262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 0.4%

LOPE stock opened at $197.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.31 and a 200-day moving average of $172.53. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.69 and a 12-month high of $202.28. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $289.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.18 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.67%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LOPE. StockNews.com lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barrington Research raised their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

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.