Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 11,201 American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of American Public Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Public Education during the first quarter worth about $211,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Public Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $313,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $182,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in American Public Education in the first quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,159,000. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on APEI shares. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Public Education from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price objective on American Public Education from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

American Public Education Trading Up 3.0 %

American Public Education stock opened at $20.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $362.52 million, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24. American Public Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.69 and a fifty-two week high of $21.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.45. 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 other news, Director Michael David Braner purchased 17,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.77 per share, with a total value of $299,713.44. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,922,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,242,169.70. This trade represents a 0.94 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.38% of the company’s stock.

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.