American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $32.24 and last traded at $31.39, with a volume of 449891 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Capmk upgraded American Public Education to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Northland Securities assumed coverage on American Public Education in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.20.

American Public Education Trading Up 0.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.53. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $566.28 million, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Insider Transactions at American Public Education

In related news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 214,396 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 1,181,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,115,380.20. The trade was a 15.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $197,143.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,736 shares of company stock worth $19,211,182. 17.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APEI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in American Public Education by 19,594.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Public Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $89,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $124,000. Militia Capital Partners LP grew its stake in American Public Education by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 6,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in American Public Education by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.