Quite a few American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At American Public Education
The Independent Director, Barbara Kurshan, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$119k worth of shares at a price of US$24.69 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$8.15. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
All up, insiders sold more shares in American Public Education than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership Of American Public Education
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From looking at our data, insiders own US$3.0m worth of American Public Education stock, about 2.0% of the company. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.
So What Do The American Public Education Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no American Public Education insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. The insider transactions at American Public Education are not inspiring us to buy. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
Of course American Public Education may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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