Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys New Position in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $580,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.15% of American Public Education at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APEI. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. William Blair raised American Public Education from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.25.

American Public Education Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of APEI traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.25. The company had a trading volume of 607,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,618. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.80 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $509.63 million, a PE ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a return on equity of 6.96% and a net margin of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. Research analysts forecast that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,783.71. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,316,793.49. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 673,436 shares of company stock valued at $19,292,841 in the last three months. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.