American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Northland Securities

Analysts at Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Northland Securities' target price points to a potential upside of 28.25% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair raised American Public Education from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Public Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.20.

American Public Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APEI opened at $28.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $506.38 million, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $26.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.35. American Public Education has a fifty-two week low of $11.80 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $164.55 million for 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%. Equities analysts expect that American Public Education will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 85,459 shares in the company, valued at $2,316,793.49. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 127,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.45, for a total transaction of $3,752,106.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,661,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,920,867.50. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,736 shares of company stock worth $19,211,182 over the last ninety days. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 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 American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 19,594.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Public Education during the first quarter worth approximately $89,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in American Public Education by 43.5% during the first quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 6,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 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.

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