BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 12,690 Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 86.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,690 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in American Public Education were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 5.0% in 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 last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $858,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APEI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.25.

American Public Education Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ APEI opened at $29.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. American Public Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.80 and a 52 week high of $30.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.41 and its 200 day moving average is $22.83. The company has a market cap of $525.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.04, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The company had revenue of $164.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other American Public Education news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 127,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.45, for a total transaction of $3,752,106.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,661,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,920,867.50. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,316,793.49. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 327,995 shares of company stock valued at $9,591,278. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Public Education 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.