American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Northland Securities

Analysts at Northland Securities began coverage on shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Northland Securities' target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.85% from the stock's current price.

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

American Public Education Trading Up 1.8%

APEI stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.79. The company had a trading volume of 560,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,128. 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 52 week low of $11.80 and a 52 week high of $30.55. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.53. The stock has a market cap of $537.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.58.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 3.86%. The firm had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Public Education will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 127,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.45, for a total value of $3,752,106.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,661,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,920,867.50. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 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. Insiders have sold a total of 669,736 shares of company stock valued at $19,211,182 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 17.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Public Education by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring 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. increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 35,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Public Education Company Profile

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.