Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.70 Million Holdings in American Public Education, Inc. $APEI

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 53.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,833 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of American Public Education worth $1,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 96.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $53.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $974.77 million, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.74 and a 1-year high of $61.59.

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