Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock Price

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 7.91% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.25.

American Public Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APEI opened at $27.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.69 and a 200-day moving average of $21.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.40 million, a PE ratio of 49.64, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. American Public Education has a 12 month low of $11.80 and a 12 month high of $30.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Public Education news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,459 shares in the company, valued at $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. 17.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 908,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,288,000 after acquiring an additional 56,674 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 761,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,426,000 after acquiring an additional 34,817 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in American Public Education by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,197,000 after acquiring an additional 63,103 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 516,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 485,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,845,000 after acquiring an additional 42,575 shares during 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.