Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 293.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,443 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,892 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $27,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LOPE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth about $61,919,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 281.9% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 453,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,362,000 after acquiring an additional 334,486 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 523.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 194,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,370,000 after acquiring an additional 163,397 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 5,029.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 138,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,964,000 after acquiring an additional 135,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,280,000 after purchasing an additional 124,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOPE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $150.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.56. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.00 and a 12 month high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $308.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.75 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 34.72%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

About Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides a suite of higher‐education services through a long-term agreement with Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest private Christian universities. The company’s offerings encompass a full range of academic and operational support functions, including enrollment management, student recruitment, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and technology infrastructure. Through its online program management capabilities, Grand Canyon Education helps design, market and deliver undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to meet the needs of both traditional and non‐traditional learners.

Core services include digital marketing, admissions support, student success coaching, learning management systems and faculty recruitment.