American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Trading Down 4.3% on Insider Selling

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) traded down 4.3% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $27.47 and last traded at $27.88. 228,106 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 180,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.14.

Specifically, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 54,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.32, for a total transaction of $1,610,049.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,526,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,755,396.72. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 54,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.32, for a total transaction of $1,610,049.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,526,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,755,396.72. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other American Public Education news, Director 325 Capital Llc sold 79,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total transaction of $2,340,270.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,581,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,381,259.47. The trade was a 4.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education 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 research report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research upped their price target 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

American Public Education Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.86. The stock has a market cap of $499.53 million, a P/E ratio of 49.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.58. 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 (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 6.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of American Public Education by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 507,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,951,000 after buying an additional 37,492 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in American Public Education by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 13,344 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth $858,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.