American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of American Public Education from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $6.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th.

American Public Education Price Performance

APEI stock traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.87. 442,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,070. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.44. American Public Education has a 12 month low of $3.76 and a 12 month high of $21.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.08, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.27.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. American Public Education had a negative net margin of 7.87% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $152.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Public Education will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Public Education by 34.6% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 476,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 122,520 shares in the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,184,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,899,000 after buying an additional 118,300 shares in the last quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 169,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in American Public Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 79.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.