Aristides Capital LLC Buys 480 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Aristides Capital LLC lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,988 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 883,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,159 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 392,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,786,000 after purchasing an additional 159,827 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,838,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 330,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,209,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 167,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,388,000 after buying an additional 9,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $167.21 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.51. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. StockNews.com raised Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barrington Research increased their target price on 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 target on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company 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.