American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.20.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded American Public Education to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Public Education news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 214,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.04, for a total transaction of $6,011,663.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,181,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,115,380.20. This represents a 15.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $197,143.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,316,793.49. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,736 shares of company stock valued at $19,211,182 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 17.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APEI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in American Public Education by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.5% during the first quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC now owns 41,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.5% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 44,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Public Education by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 35,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Public Education by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Public Education Price Performance

Shares of American Public Education stock opened at $29.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Public Education has a 12 month low of $11.80 and a 12 month high of $30.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.51.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.92 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 3.86%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.