Does the media refer more to STRA or APEI?

In the previous week, Strategic Education and Strategic Education both had 1 articles in the media. Strategic Education's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat American Public Education's score of 0.38 indicating that Strategic Education is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Strategic Education 1 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive American Public Education 0 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral

Does the media refer more to LOPE or APEI?

In the previous week, Grand Canyon Education had 1 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Grand Canyon Education and 1 mentions for American Public Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.38 beat Grand Canyon Education's score of 0.00 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Grand Canyon Education 0 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral American Public Education 0 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral

American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

$56.72 0.00 (0.00%)

Closing price 07/2/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$56.76 +0.04 (+0.07%)

As of 07/2/2026 04:10 PM Eastern

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APEI vs. STRA, LOPE, LRN, BFAM, and UTI

Should you buy American Public Education stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares American Public Education with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with American Public Education include Strategic Education (STRA), Grand Canyon Education (LOPE), Stride (LRN), Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM), and Universal Technical Institute (UTI). These companies are all part of the "education services" industry.

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic Education?

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Strategic Education currently has a consensus target price of $87.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.43%. American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.13, indicating a potential upside of 4.24%. Given Strategic Education's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Strategic Education is more favorable than American Public Education.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Strategic Education	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Strategic Education has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. Strategic Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Strategic Education	$1.27B	1.44	$126.61M	$5.66	14.31
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.60	$31.56M	$1.89	30.01

In the previous week, Strategic Education and Strategic Education both had 1 articles in the media. Strategic Education's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat American Public Education's score of 0.38 indicating that Strategic Education is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Strategic Education	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Public Education	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

93.3% of Strategic Education shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Strategic Education shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Strategic Education has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its share price is 37% more volatile than the broader market.

Strategic Education has a net margin of 10.21% compared to American Public Education's net margin of 6.13%. American Public Education's return on equity of 14.02% beat Strategic Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Strategic Education	10.21%	8.78%	6.97%
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%

Summary

American Public Education beats Strategic Education on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does American Public Education compare to Grand Canyon Education?

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Grand Canyon Education has a net margin of 19.54% compared to American Public Education's net margin of 6.13%. Grand Canyon Education's return on equity of 34.72% beat American Public Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grand Canyon Education	19.54%	34.72%	25.77%
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%

Grand Canyon Education currently has a consensus price target of $180.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.92%. American Public Education has a consensus price target of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 4.24%. Given Grand Canyon Education's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Grand Canyon Education is more favorable than American Public Education.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grand Canyon Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

In the previous week, Grand Canyon Education had 1 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Grand Canyon Education and 1 mentions for American Public Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.38 beat Grand Canyon Education's score of 0.00 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Grand Canyon Education	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
American Public Education	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

94.2% of Grand Canyon Education shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Grand Canyon Education shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Grand Canyon Education has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the broader market.

Grand Canyon Education has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. Grand Canyon Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grand Canyon Education	$1.11B	3.66	$216.17M	$8.00	19.08
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.60	$31.56M	$1.89	30.01

Summary

Grand Canyon Education beats American Public Education on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does American Public Education compare to Stride?

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and Stride (NYSE:LRN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

American Public Education has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Stride has a beta of 0.1, indicating that its share price is 90% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, American Public Education had 1 more articles in the media than Stride. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for American Public Education and 0 mentions for Stride. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.38 beat Stride's score of 0.00 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
American Public Education	Neutral
Stride	Neutral

79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Stride shares are held by institutional investors. 10.6% of American Public Education shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Stride shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

American Public Education presently has a consensus target price of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 4.24%. Stride has a consensus target price of $109.75, suggesting a potential upside of 21.61%. Given Stride's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Stride is more favorable than American Public Education.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Stride	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Stride has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. Stride is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.60	$31.56M	$1.89	30.01
Stride	$2.41B	1.60	$287.94M	$6.48	13.93

Stride has a net margin of 12.15% compared to American Public Education's net margin of 6.13%. Stride's return on equity of 25.20% beat American Public Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%
Stride	12.15%	25.20%	16.65%

Summary

American Public Education and Stride tied by winning 8 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does American Public Education compare to Bright Horizons Family Solutions?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both education services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

In the previous week, Bright Horizons Family Solutions had 2 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Bright Horizons Family Solutions and 1 mentions for American Public Education. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.49 beat American Public Education's score of 0.38 indicating that Bright Horizons Family Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Public Education	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Bright Horizons Family Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. Bright Horizons Family Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	$2.98B	1.33	$193.12M	$3.32	22.61
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.60	$31.56M	$1.89	30.01

Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus target price of $96.13, suggesting a potential upside of 28.04%. American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 4.24%. Given Bright Horizons Family Solutions' higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Bright Horizons Family Solutions is more favorable than American Public Education.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a net margin of 6.35% compared to American Public Education's net margin of 6.13%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' return on equity of 18.01% beat American Public Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	6.35%	18.01%	6.18%
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its share price is 15% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its share price is 37% more volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Bright Horizons Family Solutions and American Public Education tied by winning 8 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does American Public Education compare to Universal Technical Institute?

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Universal Technical Institute has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its share price is 37% more volatile than the broader market.

75.7% of Universal Technical Institute shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. 9.8% of Universal Technical Institute shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, Universal Technical Institute had 7 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Universal Technical Institute and 1 mentions for American Public Education. Universal Technical Institute's average media sentiment score of 0.49 beat American Public Education's score of 0.38 indicating that Universal Technical Institute is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Universal Technical Institute	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
American Public Education	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Universal Technical Institute presently has a consensus target price of $44.80, suggesting a potential downside of 6.90%. American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 4.24%. Given American Public Education's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Universal Technical Institute.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Technical Institute	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

American Public Education has a net margin of 6.13% compared to Universal Technical Institute's net margin of 4.91%. American Public Education's return on equity of 14.02% beat Universal Technical Institute's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Technical Institute	4.91%	13.02%	5.25%
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%

Universal Technical Institute has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. American Public Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Universal Technical Institute, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Universal Technical Institute	$835.62M	3.17	$63.02M	$0.77	62.49
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.60	$31.56M	$1.89	30.01

Summary

American Public Education beats Universal Technical Institute on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding APEI and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.

Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.

APEI vs. The Competition

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Metric	American Public Education	SCHOOLS Industry	Discretionary Sector	NASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap	$1.04B	$1.46B	$7.36B	$12.47B
Dividend Yield	N/A	2.42%	3.03%	6.52%
P/E Ratio	30.01	11.83	20.70	24.70
Price / Sales	1.60	3.94	4.21	97.75
Price / Cash	23.97	13.80	15.55	57.09
Price / Book	3.48	2.46	3.84	6.46
Net Income	$31.56M	$78.99M	$247.92M	$337.01M
7 Day Performance	4.05%	1.93%	0.46%	1.69%
1 Month Performance	7.73%	5.16%	2.55%	3.81%
1 Year Performance	87.69%	-14.68%	0.53%	23.90%

American Public Education Competitors List

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Company	MarketRank	Share Price	Analysts' Price Target	1Y Price Performance	Market Cap	Revenue	P/E Ratio	Employee Count	Indicator(s)
APEI American Public Education	2.0988 of 5 stars	$56.72 flat	$59.13 +4.2%	+87.7%	$1.04B	$648.86M	30.01	5,841	News Coverage
STRA Strategic Education	4.5829 of 5 stars	$76.74 +0.4%	$87.00 +13.4%	-2.9%	$1.73B	$1.27B	13.53	6,134	Positive News
LOPE Grand Canyon Education	3.0236 of 5 stars	$142.45 +0.3%	$180.00 +26.4%	-16.8%	$3.77B	$1.11B	17.78	5,830	News Coverage
LRN Stride	4.03 of 5 stars	$82.71 +0.5%	$109.75 +32.7%	-34.3%	$3.51B	$2.41B	12.75	8,600
BFAM Bright Horizons Family Solutions	4.1755 of 5 stars	$64.71 +1.1%	$96.13 +48.5%	-37.7%	$3.40B	$2.98B	19.49	32,200	Positive News Gap Down

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This page (NASDAQ:APEI) was last updated on 7/5/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

APEI vs. STRA, LOPE, LRN, BFAM, and UTI

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic Education?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Grand Canyon Education?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Stride?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Bright Horizons Family Solutions?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Universal Technical Institute?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

APEI vs. The Competition

American Public Education Competitors List

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Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools

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American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

APEI vs. STRA, LOPE, LRN, BFAM, and UTI

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic Education?

Do analysts rate STRA or APEI?

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, STRA or APEI?

Does the media refer more to STRA or APEI?

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of STRA or APEI?

Which has more volatility and risk, STRA or APEI?

Is STRA or APEI more profitable?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Grand Canyon Education?

Is LOPE or APEI more profitable?

Do analysts prefer LOPE or APEI?

Does the media refer more to LOPE or APEI?

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in LOPE or APEI?

Which has more volatility & risk, LOPE or APEI?

Which has higher valuation and earnings, LOPE or APEI?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Stride?

Which has more risk & volatility, APEI or LRN?

Does the media prefer APEI or LRN?

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in APEI or LRN?

Do analysts prefer APEI or LRN?

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, APEI or LRN?

Is APEI or LRN more profitable?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Bright Horizons Family Solutions?

Does the media refer more to BFAM or APEI?

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, BFAM or APEI?

Do analysts recommend BFAM or APEI?

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in BFAM or APEI?

Is BFAM or APEI more profitable?

Which has more volatility & risk, BFAM or APEI?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Universal Technical Institute?

Which has more volatility & risk, UTI or APEI?

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in UTI or APEI?

Does the media refer more to UTI or APEI?

Do analysts recommend UTI or APEI?

Is UTI or APEI more profitable?

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, UTI or APEI?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

APEI vs. The Competition

American Public Education Competitors List

Related Companies and Tools

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools