New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 3,871 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,871 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $4,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 13,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 42,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $164.48 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.37 and a 52-week high of $223.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.