American Public Education (APEI) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. In addition to degree programs, the company provides continuing education courses, professional development training and corporate training solutions tailored to organizational partners. This model enables American Public Education to address evolving workforce requirements and serve a diverse student population across multiple industries.

The company traces its origins to 1991 with the establishment of American Military University, initially focused on meeting the educational needs of U.S. service members. American Public Education went public in 2007 under the ticker symbol APEI on the NASDAQ Global Market, adopting its current corporate name to reflect an expanded mission beyond its military roots. Since then, it has broadened its academic offerings, enhanced its technological infrastructure and extended its reach to students in all 50 states and around the world.

American Public Education’s leadership team brings extensive experience in higher education administration, online learning and digital innovation. Under their guidance, the company continues to refine its program portfolio, invest in learning technologies and develop partnerships that support career advancement for its student community. Its strategic focus remains on delivering accessible, affordable and high-quality education designed to meet the professional goals of today’s learners.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $52.31 to $54.59
• 50-Day Range: $45.01 to $60.86
• 52-Week Range: $25.80 to $61.59
• Volume: 111,121 shs
• Average Volume: 310,058 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.00 billion
• P/E Ratio: 28.91
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $59.13
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

American Public Education Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

American Public Education scored higher than 74% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 80th out of 274 stocks in the consumer discretionary sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

American Public Education has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.75, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 6 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for American Public Education is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

American Public Education has been the subject of 7 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 17.20%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for American Public Education are expected to grow by 17.20% in the coming year, from $2.50 to $2.93 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 28.79, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.36.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 28.79, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 18.52.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

American Public Education has a PEG Ratio of 1.41. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

American Public Education has a P/B Ratio of 3.26. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

13.59% of the float of American Public Education has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

American Public Education has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 9.34.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in American Public Education has recently decreased by 6.68%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

American Public Education does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

American Public Education does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.69

News Sentiment

American Public Education has a news sentiment score of 0.69. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 24 news articles for American Public Education this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

3 people have searched for APEI on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 200% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, American Public Education insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $20,753,569.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

10.60% of the stock of American Public Education is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

79.62% of the stock of American Public Education is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/11/2026
• Today: 5/14/2026
• AGM 2026: 5/22/2026
• 46th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference: 6/03/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• Industry: SCHOOLS
• Sub-Industry: Education Services
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:APEI
• CIK: 1201792
• Web: www.apei.com
• Phone: (304) 724-3700
• Fax: 877-468-6268
• Employees: 5,841
• Year Founded: 1991

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for American Public Education: $59.13
• High Price Target: $68.00
• Low Price Target: $51.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +8.2%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.75
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.36
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 28.91
• Forward P/E Ratio: 21.86
• P/E Growth: 1.41
• Net Income: $31.56 million
• Net Margins: 6.13%
• Pretax Margin: 7.83%
• Return on Equity: 14.02%
• Return on Assets: 7.61%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.27
• Current Ratio: 2.98
• Quick Ratio: 3.46

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $648.86 million
• Price / Sales: 1.54
• Cash Flow: $2.44 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 22.40
• Book Value: $16.69 per share
• Price / Book: 3.27

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 18,340,000
• Free Float: 16,459,000
• Market Cap: $1.00 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.46