American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Short Interest Down 7.7% in January

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 697,600 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the December 31st total of 756,200 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 118,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $858,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Public Education by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in American Public Education by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APEI shares. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of American Public Education from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of APEI stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.80. 14,917 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 80,063. The company has a market capitalization of $385.99 million, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.82. American Public Education has a 1 year low of $10.30 and a 1 year high of $23.84.

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.