Barrington Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Barrington Research from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barrington Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.07% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. B. Riley started coverage on American Public Education in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair raised American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Lake Street Capital started coverage on American Public Education in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

American Public Education Price Performance

APEI opened at $27.57 on Tuesday. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $11.80 and a 1-year high of $30.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $497.25 million, a PE ratio of 49.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a return on equity of 6.96% and a net margin of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.92 million. As a group, research analysts expect that American Public Education will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 60,253 shares in the company, 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 available through this link. 17.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 19,594.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 3,331 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 1st quarter worth $89,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $121,000. 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.