Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,478 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 1.25% of Grand Canyon Education worth $59,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth $421,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,484 shares of the company's stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $1,715,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 19,300 shares of the company's stock worth $3,156,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 42,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,973,000 after purchasing an additional 8,551 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LOPE shares. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Remove Ads

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE traded up $4.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $173.37. 184,073 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,311. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.78. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.12.

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