American Public Education, Inc. $APEI Stake Lessened by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC cut its American Public Education stake by 74.3% in the first quarter, selling 82,150 shares and retaining 28,464 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.62% of APEI.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.12. Recent firms raised targets to between $62 and $68, while Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.”
• American Public Education exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.61 consensus and revenue of $174.74 million. The stock opened at $51.24, compared with a 52-week range of $27.74 to $61.59.

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Free Report) by 74.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,464 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,150 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.16% of American Public Education worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of American Public Education by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 263,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,962,000 after buying an additional 22,472 shares during the last quarter. Crown Advisors Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Public Education during the fourth quarter valued at $1,890,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 358,543 shares of the company's stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,751 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in American Public Education by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 119,268 shares of the company's stock worth $4,508,000 after purchasing an additional 19,736 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $457,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barrington Research upped their price target on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

American Public Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $51.24 on Friday. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $52.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $939.74 million, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.74 and a 1 year high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

About American Public Education

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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