William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 334,486 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 281.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 453,140 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 334,486 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.62% of Grand Canyon Education worth $75,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE opened at $156.70 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.04. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.62. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.37 and a 52-week high of $223.04.

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