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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APEI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research raised their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Public Education from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of APEI traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $21.80. 14,917 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,063. American Public Education has a 52 week low of $10.30 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.82. The firm has a market cap of $385.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Public Education by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 404,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in American Public Education by 27.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after buying an additional 58,984 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,691,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in American Public Education by 350.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 9,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in American Public Education by 17.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 4,167 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is 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.