American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Short Interest Down 13.2% in February

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APEI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.33.

Insider Activity

In other American Public Education 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,783.71. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APEI. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in American Public Education by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 35,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in American Public Education by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in American Public Education by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 51,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Public Education Trading Up 3.8 %

APEI stock opened at $22.91 on Thursday. American Public Education has a one year low of $11.80 and a one year high of $25.60. The stock has a market cap of $412.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.65.

American Public Education Company 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.