Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOPE. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,323,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,725,000 after buying an additional 141,648 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,878,000 after buying an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth $10,262,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth $4,942,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth $4,833,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE stock opened at $167.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.78. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.17 and a 1 year high of $192.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $174.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.57.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. As a group, analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LOPE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.