KBC Group NV Buys 170 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 1st quarter worth $2,180,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,865,000 after buying an additional 4,388 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 14,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,363,000 after buying an additional 24,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE opened at $162.11 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.48 and a fifty-two week high of $173.37. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.73.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total value of $211,845.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.