Victory Capital Management Inc. Invests $213,000 in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of American Public Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in American Public Education by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,155 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 221,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,300 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in American Public Education by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 37,272 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 11,820 shares during the period. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of American Public Education by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,057 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APEI has been the topic of several research reports. Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of American Public Education to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.00.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APEI traded down $3.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.32. 400,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,778. The company has a market cap of $510.80 million, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.48 and a 200 day moving average of $25.51. American Public Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.83 and a 52-week high of $32.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 3.27.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $162.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.88 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 9.96%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other American Public Education news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $197,143.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,316,793.49. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 214,396 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.04, for a total transaction of $6,011,663.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,181,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,115,380.20. This trade represents a 15.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,736 shares of company stock worth $19,211,182. 17.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Public Education 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.