Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 106,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,287,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Public Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $299,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 140.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 80,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 47,293 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Public Education by 350.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 9,069 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 383.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,677 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 5,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $81,659.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,783.71. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on APEI. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Public Education from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

American Public Education Stock Performance

APEI opened at $22.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a current ratio of 2.65. American Public Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.80 and a 52-week high of $25.60. The firm has a market cap of $412.65 million, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.83 and its 200-day moving average is $19.24.

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.