American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.2857.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research boosted their price target on American Public Education from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Lake Street Capital set a $38.00 price target on American Public Education and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on American Public Education from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th.

American Public Education Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of APEI stock opened at $35.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $14.01 and a 1-year high of $39.83. The company has a market cap of $646.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.24.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.05. American Public Education had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 4.44%.The firm had revenue of $162.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.88 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Public Education will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 908,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,288,000 after buying an additional 56,674 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 124.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 668,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,342,000 after buying an additional 370,894 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 563,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,151,000 after buying an additional 46,813 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 538,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,018,000 after buying an additional 21,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 485,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,845,000 after buying an additional 42,575 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.