Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,428 Shares of American Public Education, Inc. $APEI

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 48.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,428 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Public Education were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,893,000 after buying an additional 17,902 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 962,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,398,000 after acquiring an additional 34,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of American Public Education by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 847,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,028,000 after acquiring an additional 15,277 shares during the last quarter. No Street GP LP bought a new stake in shares of American Public Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,365,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Public Education by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 595,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,518,000 after acquiring an additional 65,497 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Barrington Research raised their price target on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Trading Down 2.3%

APEI opened at $48.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $889.67 million, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. American Public Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.74 and a twelve month high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.33. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The company had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

American Public Education Profile

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.