Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,041 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 17.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 12,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,363,000 after buying an additional 24,871 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 30,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, Hyperion Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter valued at about $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $162.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.69 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.