Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 39.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,943 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 6,102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 480,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,905,000 after acquiring an additional 472,714 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,919,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 281.9% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 453,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,362,000 after acquiring an additional 334,486 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 135.3% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 518,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,303,000 after purchasing an additional 298,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 523.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 194,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,370,000 after purchasing an additional 163,397 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Barrington Research set a $200.00 target price on Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $150.80 on Wednesday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.27 and a 52-week high of $223.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.18 and a 200-day moving average of $159.73.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 36.62% and a net margin of 19.63%.The business had revenue of $264.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.