Insider Selling: American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Insider Sells $350,155.00 in Stock

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) insider Nuno Fernandes sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.87, for a total transaction of $350,155.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,534,507.25. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

American Public Education Price Performance

Shares of American Public Education stock opened at $54.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.68 and its 200 day moving average is $38.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.70. American Public Education, Inc. has a one year low of $20.75 and a one year high of $58.69.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.The firm had revenue of $158.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on APEI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, December 29th. William Blair set a $58.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

American Public Education News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises are supporting upside — DA Davidson boosted its target to $58 and other brokers have lifted targets recently, reinforcing buy-side momentum after APEI’s Q4 beat. DA Davidson Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and estimates improving: APEI posted an EPS and revenue beat for Q4 and provided Q1 EPS guidance (0.580–0.640), and recent upward earnings estimate revisions (highlighted by Zacks) support the bullish narrative. Zacks Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports show anomalous zero-share totals and NaN changes (days-to-cover = 0.0) — this appears to be a data/reporting issue rather than a real spike in short activity, so treat short-interest signals cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week could pressure the stock — 325 Capital LLC sold large blocks (multiple sales mid-March totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars), and a few senior executives also sold shares. These sizable disposals may create near-term selling pressure or raise questions about timing; filings are available via the SEC. 325 Capital/SEC Filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Public Education by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,893,000 after acquiring an additional 17,902 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of American Public Education by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 962,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,398,000 after acquiring an additional 34,700 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 847,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,277 shares in the last quarter. No Street GP LP purchased a new position in shares of American Public Education in the third quarter valued at $32,365,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in American Public Education by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 612,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,159,000 after purchasing an additional 49,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc operates as a provider of online postsecondary education, offering degree and certificate programs through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Public University System (APUS). The company designs and delivers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business administration, information technology, criminal justice, homeland security, health sciences, and education. Its curriculum is developed to meet the needs of working adults, military personnel, veterans and civilian students seeking flexible, career-relevant learning opportunities.

APUS is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and employs a proprietary online learning platform that supports asynchronous instruction, digital course materials and interactive learning tools.