Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 17.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 375,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,864 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $52,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 8.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.6% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 12,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 2,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LOPE. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded down $4.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.41. 104,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 184,472. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.42 and a 12-month high of $157.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.51.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The company had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.