Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,810 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LOPE. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $176.99. The company had a trading volume of 60,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,227. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.13 and a 200-day moving average of $163.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.17 and a 1 year high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $292.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.