Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Stock Holdings Reduced by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 637,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,173 shares during the period. Grand Canyon Education accounts for about 1.2% of GW&K Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $139,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LOPE. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 80.8% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 13.7% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 118,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,047,000 after acquiring an additional 14,291 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter worth $133,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,628,000 after purchasing an additional 113,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 2,197 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $162.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.60. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.37 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04.

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

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.