American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded American Public Education from “strong-buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $59.38 target price.
• APEI reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, surpassing the $0.36 consensus estimate, and revenue of $171.73 million, slightly above forecasts. Management guided to FY2026 EPS of $2.48–$2.79.
• The stock opened at $45.23, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, despite institutional investors owning approximately 79.6% of shares.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of American Public Education from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of American Public Education from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered American Public Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.38.

American Public Education Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of APEI stock opened at $45.23 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $52.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $827.71 million, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 2.98. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $28.48 and a 1-year high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $171.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.88 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.84%.American Public Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.790 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.180-0.290 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Public Education news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 52,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in American Public Education by 5,909.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 96.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 259.6% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,276 shares of the company's stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company's stock.

More American Public Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northland raised its fourth-quarter forecast. Analyst L. Horton increased the Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.87 from $0.81, while maintaining a full-year forecast near the analyst consensus of approximately $2.62-$2.63 per share. Northland Securities Weighs in on APEI FY2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: APEI continues to be highlighted as a growth stock. Zacks pointed to the company’s growth characteristics and style-score profile, which could support investor interest despite recent weakness. Why American Public Education Is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity drew attention. A top executive at American Public University System reportedly made a notable transaction in APEI shares. The impact depends on whether the transaction was a purchase or sale and its size relative to the executive’s holdings. Top Executive Makes Bold Move With American Public Education Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: APEI previously exceeded quarterly expectations. The company reported $0.52 in EPS versus the $0.36 consensus estimate and generated $171.7 million in revenue, slightly above forecasts. Management’s FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.48-$2.79 provides a generally supportive earnings backdrop. American Public Education Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Northland cut its Q3 EPS estimate sharply. The firm reduced its forecast to $0.24 from $0.41, raising concerns about near-term earnings momentum even though it increased its Q4 estimate. Northland Securities Weighs in on APEI FY2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded APEI from “Strong Buy” to “Hold.” The ratings change may be pressuring the stock by signaling less attractive near-term risk-adjusted upside. Zacks Research

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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