American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) has an average analyst recommendation of "Buy", based on coverage from eight analysts. The consensus 12-month price target is about $59.13.
• Recent analyst actions have remained mostly positive, including buy ratings and upgrades to strong-buy from firms such as Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research. DA Davidson and Lake Street Capital also reiterated buy ratings with price targets in the low-to-mid $60s.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.61 estimate, and revenue slightly above forecasts. It also provided Q2 2026 guidance of $0.34 to $0.39 EPS.

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.1250.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APEI. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded American Public Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Public Education from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

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

American Public Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $50.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $930.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.43. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $27.74 and a 1-year high of $61.59.

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

American Public Education Company 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.

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