American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Research Coverage Started at Northland Securities

Northland Securities began coverage on shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on APEI. Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.20.

American Public Education Stock Up 1.8%

APEI stock opened at $29.79 on Wednesday. American Public Education has a twelve month low of $11.80 and a twelve month high of $30.55. The company has a market cap of $537.41 million, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.51. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 3.86%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Public Education will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $197,143.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,316,793.49. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 127,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.45, for a total transaction of $3,752,106.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,661,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,920,867.50. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 669,736 shares of company stock worth $19,211,182. Insiders own 17.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 507,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,951,000 after purchasing an additional 37,492 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in American Public Education by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 13,344 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $858,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

American Public Education Company Profile

American Public Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce.