American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Given "Outperform" Rating at Barrington Research

Key Points

• Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on American Public Education (APEI) with a $56 price target, implying about a 3.77% downside from the prior close; the analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $55.50 consensus price target.
• Q1 results beat expectations: APEI reported $0.67 EPS vs. $0.39 expected and $158.33M revenue vs. $151.61M expected, while guiding Q1 FY2026 EPS to $0.580–$0.640.
• Significant insider selling amid heavy institutional ownership: Insiders sold 377,071 shares (~$20.8M) in the last three months (including a 65,000-share sale by 325 Capital LLC), and roughly 79.6% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by research analysts at Barrington Research in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research's price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.77% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair set a $58.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a report on Friday, March 13th. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered American Public Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded American Public Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.50.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of APEI stock opened at $58.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $53.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.52. American Public Education has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.The company had revenue of $158.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Public Education will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider 325 Capital Llc sold 65,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.78, for a total transaction of $3,495,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 836,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,972,664.52. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total transaction of $150,849.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 40,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,264,243.49. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP raised its stake in American Public Education by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 7,432 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in American Public Education by 4.9% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in American Public Education by 5.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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