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: $57.51 to $58.91
• 50-Day Range: $43.42 to $60.86
• 52-Week Range: $23.00 to $61.59
• Volume: 148,238 shs
• Average Volume: 308,828 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.07 billion
• P/E Ratio: 42.68
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $55.50
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

American Public Education Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

American Public Education scored higher than 35% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 154th out of 272 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: 2.4 / 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 2.88, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 5 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Downside Risk

American Public Education has a consensus price target of $55.50, representing about 5.0% downside from its current price of $58.44.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

American Public Education has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 23.53%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for American Public Education are expected to grow by 23.53% in the coming year, from $2.38 to $2.94 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 42.94, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 38.55.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of American Public Education is 42.94, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 16.87.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

American Public Education has a PEG Ratio of 1.63. 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 3.59. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

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

Percentage of Shares Shorted

15.79% 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 10.01, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in American Public Education has recently decreased by 1.73%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

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: 1.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.54

News Sentiment

American Public Education has a news sentiment score of 0.54. 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 6 news articles for American Public Education this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.

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.

APEI Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have APEI shares performed this year?

American Public Education's stock was trading at $37.80 on January 1st, 2026. Since then, APEI stock has increased by 54.6% and is now trading at $58.44.

How were American Public Education's earnings last quarter?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March, 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.28. The firm earned $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.61 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.86% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 11.30%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are American Public Education's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of American Public Education include Assenagon Asset Management S.A. (0.96%), Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd (0.19%), Hsbc Holdings PLC (0.10%) and Principal Financial Group Inc. (0.10%). Insiders that own company stock include Michael David Braner, 325 Capital Llc, Nuno S Fernandes, Thomas Beckett, Tanya Joy Axenson, Karmela Gaffney, Craig S Macgibbon, Barbara Kurshan, James Kenigsberg and Daniel S Pianko.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of American Public Education?

Shares of APEI stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of American Public Education own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that American Public Education investors own include Humana (HUM), American Water Works (AWK), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR), Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH) and Southern First Bancshares (SFST).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 3/12/2026
• Today: 5/05/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 5/11/2026
• 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: $55.50
• High Price Target: $58.00
• Low Price Target: $51.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -4.4%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.88
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.36
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 42.65
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.40
• P/E Growth: 1.63
• Net Income: $31.56 million
• Net Margins: 4.86%
• Pretax Margin: 6.74%
• Return on Equity: 11.30%
• Return on Assets: 5.84%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.32
• Current Ratio: 3.46
• Quick Ratio: 3.46

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $648.86 million
• Price / Sales: 1.65
• Cash Flow: $2.36 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 24.60
• Book Value: $16.30 per share
• Price / Book: 3.56

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 18,410,000
• Free Float: 16,459,000
• Market Cap: $1.07 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.46