Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 25,178 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 24th, 2023

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,401 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,178 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Grand Canyon Education worth $16,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOPE. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $686,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,205 shares during the last quarter. 96.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOPE has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $108.08 on Wednesday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.37 and a one year high of $124.53. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.63.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.04. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 20.29% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business had revenue of $250.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, insider Kathy J. Claypatch sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.59, for a total value of $168,885.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,550 shares in the company, valued at $962,644.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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Grand Canyon Education, Inc engages in the provision of education services. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs and certificates across colleges. The company was founded by Christopher C. Richardson and Brent D. Richardson in November 2003 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.