American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock Price Up 7.8% – What’s Next?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)’s share price rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.92 and last traded at $30.27. Approximately 66,659 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 184,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital lifted 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. Northland Securities assumed coverage on American Public Education in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised 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. Northland Capmk upgraded American Public Education to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.20.

American Public Education Trading Up 4.3%

The firm has a market cap of $528.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 3.27.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.92 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 9.96%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,459 shares in the company, valued at $2,316,793.49. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 214,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.04, for a total value of $6,011,663.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,181,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,115,380.20. The trade was a 15.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 669,736 shares of company stock valued at $19,211,182. 17.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APEI. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Public Education by 19,594.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Public Education during the first quarter valued at about $89,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 6,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.