American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Short Interest Update

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 691,500 shares, a decrease of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 796,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 106,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APEI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair raised shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

American Public Education Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APEI opened at $22.07 on Wednesday. American Public Education has a 52 week low of $11.80 and a 52 week high of $25.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.96. 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 company has a market cap of $397.17 million, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,783.71. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at $580,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 353,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,618,000 after buying an additional 6,909 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 75,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 6,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 35,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

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.