Xponance Inc. Trims Stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Xponance Inc. lowered its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOPE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,871 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 850,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,971,000 after buying an additional 11,179 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 756,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,908,000 after buying an additional 11,540 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,197,000 after buying an additional 12,509 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,077,000 after acquiring an additional 39,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $142.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.38 and a fifty-two week high of $157.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.48.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.56 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 21.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LOPE. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.