Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 30.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,202 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $9,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOPE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 285,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,783 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 17.7% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 18.0% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $163.50 on Tuesday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $173.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $158.82 and a 200 day moving average of $147.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.76.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The company had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.