American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 207,496 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the previous session’s volume of 300,463 shares.The stock last traded at $51.8360 and had previously closed at $50.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on APEI. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Barrington Research boosted their price target on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $942.31 million, a PE ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.05.

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

Insider Transactions at American Public Education

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in American Public Education by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

American Public Education Company Profile

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.