Northland Securities Initiates Coverage on American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI)

Northland Securities started coverage on shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.20.

American Public Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ APEI opened at $29.27 on Wednesday. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $11.80 and a 52-week high of $30.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $528.03 million, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.58.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. On average, research analysts predict that American Public Education will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other American Public Education news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 127,406 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.45, for a total transaction of $3,752,106.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,661,150 shares in the company, valued at $48,920,867.50. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,316,793.49. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 669,736 shares of company stock valued at $19,211,182. Corporate insiders own 17.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Public Education by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 908,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,288,000 after purchasing an additional 56,674 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 761,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,426,000 after acquiring an additional 34,817 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,197,000 after acquiring an additional 63,103 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 538,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,018,000 after acquiring an additional 21,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 516,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,550 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About American Public Education

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.