American Public Education, Inc. $APEI Shares Bought by CenterBook Partners LP

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in American Public Education by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 119,268 shares valued at about $4.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 79.62% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive on APEI, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $59.13, while the company recently reported earnings that beat expectations and issued Q2 2026 guidance.

CenterBook Partners LP boosted its position in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 119,268 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,736 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP owned approximately 0.66% of American Public Education worth $4,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 1,025.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 130,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 118,996 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in American Public Education by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 595,704 shares of the company's stock worth $22,518,000 after purchasing an additional 65,497 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Public Education by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APEI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Public Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Public Education from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of American Public Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Insider Activity

In other American Public Education news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 6,500 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.87, for a total transaction of $350,155.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,507.25. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total value of $115,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,324.40. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

American Public Education Stock Performance

American Public Education stock opened at $51.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $950.93 million, a PE ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. American Public Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.80 and a 12 month high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for 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. Research analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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