Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.70 Million Position in American Public Education, Inc. $APEI

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 53.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 29,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,833 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Public Education were worth $1,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 5,909.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in American Public Education by 40.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in American Public Education by 96.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APEI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Performance

American Public Education stock opened at $53.15 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.74 and a 200-day moving average of $51.34. The company has a market capitalization of $974.77 million, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.74 and a 1 year high of $61.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 52,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,288. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

About American Public Education

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.