Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Position Increased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 244.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 716 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $421,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $528,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,513,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 135.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $183.53 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.69 and a fifty-two week high of $202.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.77.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.06. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $289.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LOPE. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

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.