American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock Price Up 4.7% – What’s Next?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) shot up 4.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.89 and last traded at $29.17. Approximately 92,015 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 174,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APEI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

American Public Education Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a current ratio of 2.65. The company has a market capitalization of $530.02 million, a PE ratio of 52.46, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.86.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.92 million. Equities analysts forecast that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total value of $81,659.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,783.71. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,316,793.49. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Public Education by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 908,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,288,000 after acquiring an additional 56,674 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 761,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,426,000 after acquiring an additional 34,817 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,197,000 after acquiring an additional 63,103 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Public Education by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 538,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,018,000 after acquiring an additional 21,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 516,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after purchasing an additional 8,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

About American Public Education

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.