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

Company Overview

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) is a provider of postsecondary education and career-focused learning programs. Through its institutions, the company offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, professional development, and vocational training in areas including business, public service, healthcare, nursing, technology, and related fields.

APEI’s principal education platforms include American Public University System, which operates American Public University and American Military University; Rasmussen University; and Hondros College of Nursing. These institutions serve traditional and nontraditional students through online and campus-based programs, with offerings designed for working adults, military personnel, veterans, healthcare professionals, and other career-oriented learners.

The company was founded in 1991 and has expanded from its original focus on online higher education through acquisitions and the development of additional healthcare and career-training programs. Its institutions serve students primarily across the United States, with American Public University System particularly focused on military and public-service communities. Angela M. Selden serves as APEI’s president and chief executive officer.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $47.46 to $48.41
• 50-Day Range: $40.58 to $51.24
• 52-Week Range: $30.20 to $61.59
• Volume: 251,396 shs
• Average Volume: 272,513 shs
• Market Capitalization: $884.81 million
• P/E Ratio: 19.90
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $59.38
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

American Public Education Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

American Public Education scored higher than 76% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 190th out of 485 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: 4.1 / 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 2.86, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 4 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

American Public Education has a consensus price target of $59.38, representing about 22.8% upside from its current price of $48.35.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

American Public Education has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 16.73%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for American Public Education are expected to grow by 16.73% in the coming year, from $2.63 to $3.07 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 19.90, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 36.16.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 19.90, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 43.38.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

American Public Education has a PEG Ratio of 1.23. 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 2.97. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

14.48% 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 8.05.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in American Public Education has recently increased by 18.37%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing 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: 2.1 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.32

News Sentiment

American Public Education has a news sentiment score of 0.32. 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 is a lower news sentiment than the 0.56 average news sentiment score of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for American Public Education this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

1 people have searched for APEI on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.1 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, American Public Education insiders have not sold or bought any 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: 8/10/2026
• Today: 10/15/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/09/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• Industry: Diversified Consumer Services
• 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: $59.38
• High Price Target: $68.00
• Low Price Target: $51.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +22.8%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.86
• Research Coverage: 7 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.43
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 19.90
• Forward P/E Ratio: 18.38
• P/E Growth: 1.23
• Net Income: $31.56 million
• Net Margins: 6.84%
• Pretax Margin: 8.96%
• Return on Equity: 15.30%
• Return on Assets: 8.61%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.26
• Current Ratio: 3.25
• Quick Ratio: 3.25

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $648.86 million
• Price / Sales: 1.36
• Cash Flow: $2.36 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 20.47
• Book Value: $16.30 per share
• Price / Book: 2.97

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 18,300,000
• Free Float: 16,362,000
• Market Cap: $884.81 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.41