Graham Capital Management L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 81.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,941 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LOPE shares. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE opened at $197.44 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $202.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $177.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.68. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.06. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.67%. The company had revenue of $289.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

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.