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

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

American Public Education Stock Performance

APEI opened at $22.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.17 million, a PE ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. American Public Education has a twelve month low of $11.80 and a twelve month high of $25.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.50 and its 200 day moving average price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,783.71. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $580,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,000. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 6,909 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 6,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APEI has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating 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. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

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.