Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 538,532 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,800 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.81% of Grand Canyon Education worth $74,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOPE. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter worth about $2,180,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 11,251 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,077,000 after buying an additional 39,743 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 7.0% during 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 last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE opened at $142.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.36. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.38 and a 1 year high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The business had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Grand Canyon Education 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.