Short Interest in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Drops By 7.7%

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 697,600 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the December 15th total of 756,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 118,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on APEI shares. Barrington Research raised their price target on American Public Education from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on American Public Education from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APEI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in American Public Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $880,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Public Education by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 404,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in American Public Education by 14.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,004,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,651,000 after buying an additional 127,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in American Public Education by 27.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 58,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the third quarter valued at $1,691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

American Public Education Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of APEI stock opened at $21.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.54. American Public Education has a 1 year low of $10.15 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.94 million, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.29.

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.