American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Upgraded by B. Riley to “Strong-Buy” Rating

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was upgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on APEI. William Blair raised shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.33.

American Public Education Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ APEI opened at $22.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.32. American Public Education has a one year low of $11.80 and a one year high of $25.60. The company has a market capitalization of $404.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,329,783.71. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APEI. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth $124,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 5,187 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

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.