American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Shares Down 7.2% – Time to Sell?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)’s stock price dropped 7.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $53.97 and last traded at $53.8550. Approximately 245,974 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 293,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on APEI. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Public Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Down 10.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $957.97 million, a PE ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.25.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $174.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.73 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.02%. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 15.1% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 28,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 3,772 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in American Public Education by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 181,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,743,000 after buying an additional 4,125 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of American Public Education by 502.3% during the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 42,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 35,807 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the first quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new position in American Public Education in the 1st quarter worth approximately $385,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Public Education Company Profile

American Public Education, Inc operates as a provider of online postsecondary education, offering degree and certificate programs through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Public University System (APUS). The company designs and delivers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business administration, information technology, criminal justice, homeland security, health sciences, and education. Its curriculum is developed to meet the needs of working adults, military personnel, veterans and civilian students seeking flexible, career-relevant learning opportunities.

APUS is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and employs a proprietary online learning platform that supports asynchronous instruction, digital course materials and interactive learning tools.