American Public Education price target raised to $24 from $18 at Barrington

Barrington raised the firm’s price target on American Public Education (APEI) to $24 from $18 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Despite shares having more than doubled year-to-date, they are still trading at “a big discount” to the for-profit postsecondary peer group average, the analyst tells investors. The firm cites the “significant discount valuation,” recovering demand for affordable online higher education and nursing programs and its expectation for accelerating enrollment growth and margin expansion in 2025 for its increased target.