Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 405 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,765 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $174.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.75. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $176.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.12.

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

Insider Activity

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education 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.