M&T Bank Corp Purchases 135,385 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 5,029.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,385 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $22,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $49,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LOPE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $165.04 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.37 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.82.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 33.28% and a net margin of 19.54%.The firm had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education 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.