State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,988 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 14,150.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 710.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 46.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on LOPE shares. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 3.2 %

LOPE opened at $159.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.70. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.48 and a 52 week high of $173.37.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.