American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 427,900 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the March 15th total of 389,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 172,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APEI. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Public Education from $6.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on American Public Education from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target (up previously from $12.00) on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APEI. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 34.6% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 476,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 122,520 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in American Public Education by 11.1% in the third quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,184,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,899,000 after acquiring an additional 118,300 shares in the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 13.4% in the third quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 169,370 shares of the company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 79.62% of the company's stock.

American Public Education Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of APEI traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $12.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 107,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,943. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.29, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $9.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $3.76 and a 52-week high of $16.39.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. American Public Education had a positive return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $152.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.54 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.