Systematic Financial Management LP Grows Stock Holdings in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 353,184 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,909 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP’s holdings in American Public Education were worth $7,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APEI. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,563,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in American Public Education by 379.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,090,000 after buying an additional 223,447 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in American Public Education by 649.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 214,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,628,000 after buying an additional 185,920 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Public Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,287,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in American Public Education by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,197,000 after buying an additional 63,103 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Public Education Stock Performance

APEI opened at $27.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $502.30 million, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.80 and a 1-year high of $30.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.65.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.92 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 6.96%. Equities analysts forecast that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,783.71. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,316,793.49. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on APEI. StockNews.com raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair raised shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

American Public Education 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.