American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

$51.50 0.00 (0.00%)

Closing price 05/22/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$51.50 0.00 (0.00%)

As of 05/22/2026 04:10 PM Eastern

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

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), Stride (LRN), Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM), Universal Technical Institute (UTI), and Lincoln Educational Services (LINC). These companies are all part of the "education services" industry.

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic Education?

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

American Public Education currently has a consensus price target of $59.13, indicating a potential upside of 14.81%. Strategic Education has a consensus price target of $87.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.83%. Given American Public Education's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Strategic 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
Strategic Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Strategic Education has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less 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
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%
Strategic Education	10.21%	8.78%	6.97%

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
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.46	$31.56M	$1.89	27.25
Strategic Education	$1.27B	1.40	$126.61M	$5.66	13.87

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

In the previous week, American Public Education and American Public Education both had 3 articles in the media. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Strategic Education's score of 0.89 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Summary

American Public Education beats Strategic Education on 9 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 better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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%

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	1.46	$31.56M	$1.89	27.25
Stride	$2.41B	1.57	$287.94M	$6.48	13.69

In the previous week, Stride had 1 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Stride and 3 mentions for American Public Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Stride's score of 0.34 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Public Education	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Stride	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its share price is 46% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Stride has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its share price is 87% less volatile than the broader market.

American Public Education currently has a consensus target price of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Stride has a consensus target price of $109.75, suggesting a potential upside of 23.71%. Given Stride's higher probable upside, analysts plainly 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)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Summary

Stride beats American Public Education on 10 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 better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

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 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	$2.93B	1.22	$193.12M	$3.32	20.44
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.46	$31.56M	$1.89	27.25

Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, American Public Education had 2 more articles in the media than Bright Horizons Family Solutions. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for American Public Education and 1 mentions for Bright Horizons Family Solutions. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Bright Horizons Family Solutions' score of 0.40 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
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	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	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus price target of $100.44, suggesting a potential upside of 48.00%. American Public Education has a consensus price target of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Given Bright Horizons Family Solutions' higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
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 company insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

American Public Education beats Bright Horizons Family Solutions on 10 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 investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Universal Technical Institute has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the broader market.

Universal Technical Institute presently has a consensus target price of $44.25, suggesting a potential upside of 9.53%. American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Given American Public Education's stronger consensus rating and higher possible 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)	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

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%

75.7% of Universal Technical Institute shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.8% of Universal Technical Institute 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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	2.66	$63.02M	$0.77	52.47
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.46	$31.56M	$1.89	27.25

In the previous week, Universal Technical Institute had 2 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Universal Technical Institute and 3 mentions for American Public Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Universal Technical Institute's score of 0.71 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
Universal Technical Institute	1 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Public Education	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

American Public Education beats Universal Technical Institute on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does American Public Education compare to Lincoln Educational Services?

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

In the previous week, Lincoln Educational Services had 2 more articles in the media than American Public Education. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Lincoln Educational Services and 3 mentions for American Public Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.92 beat Lincoln Educational Services' score of -0.23 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
Lincoln Educational Services	1 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	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Lincoln Educational Services currently has a consensus price target of $52.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.47%. American Public Education has a consensus price target of $59.13, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Given American Public Education's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Lincoln Educational Services.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln Educational Services	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Lincoln Educational Services has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the broader market.

American Public Education has higher revenue and earnings than Lincoln Educational Services. American Public Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Educational Services, 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
Lincoln Educational Services	$518.24M	2.96	$20M	$0.71	68.17
American Public Education	$648.86M	1.46	$31.56M	$1.89	27.25

72.2% of Lincoln Educational Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Lincoln Educational Services 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

American Public Education has a net margin of 6.13% compared to Lincoln Educational Services' net margin of 4.11%. Lincoln Educational Services' return on equity of 15.25% beat American Public Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln Educational Services	4.11%	15.25%	6.16%
American Public Education	6.13%	14.02%	7.61%

Summary

American Public Education beats Lincoln Educational Services 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	$944.66M	$1.40B	$7.24B	$12.34B
Dividend Yield	N/A	2.54%	2.94%	5.28%
P/E Ratio	27.25	11.09	18.52	25.65
Price / Sales	1.46	1.44	3.42	86.28
Price / Cash	21.76	13.77	14.77	56.67
Price / Book	3.09	2.34	3.71	7.14
Net Income	$31.56M	$78.84M	$238.79M	$335.98M
7 Day Performance	-5.37%	1.08%	1.38%	3.56%
1 Month Performance	-7.46%	5.17%	14.65%	2.54%
1 Year Performance	75.71%	-16.98%	18.59%	35.05%

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	4.1404 of 5 stars	$51.50 flat	$59.13 +14.8%	+75.7%	$944.66M	$648.86M	27.25	5,841
STRA Strategic Education	4.9295 of 5 stars	$81.71 +0.9%	$87.00 +6.5%	-10.3%	$1.85B	$1.27B	14.45	6,134	Ex-Dividend Analyst Downgrade
LRN Stride	4.4378 of 5 stars	$91.06 +1.4%	$109.75 +20.5%	-42.0%	$3.89B	$2.41B	14.12	8,600
BFAM Bright Horizons Family Solutions	3.9986 of 5 stars	$69.85 +2.5%	$100.44 +43.8%	-47.8%	$3.69B	$2.93B	21.15	32,200
UTI Universal Technical Institute	3.0553 of 5 stars	$38.10 -2.5%	$42.50 +11.5%	+15.5%	$2.11B	$835.62M	49.83	4,100

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This page (NASDAQ:APEI) was last updated on 5/25/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

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

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic 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

How does American Public Education compare to Lincoln Educational Services?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

APEI vs. The Competition

American Public Education Competitors List

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Stock Ideas and Recommendations

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American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

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

How does American Public Education compare to Strategic Education?

Do analysts recommend APEI or STRA?

Which has more risk and volatility, APEI or STRA?

Is APEI or STRA more profitable?

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, APEI or STRA?

Do institutionals & insiders believe in APEI or STRA?

Does the media prefer APEI or STRA?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Stride?

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

Is APEI or LRN more profitable?

Which has better valuation and earnings, APEI or LRN?

Does the media prefer APEI or LRN?

Which has more volatility and risk, APEI or LRN?

Do analysts rate APEI or LRN?

Summary

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

Is BFAM or APEI more profitable?

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, BFAM or APEI?

Which has more risk & volatility, BFAM or APEI?

Does the media refer more to BFAM or APEI?

Do analysts rate BFAM or APEI?

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of BFAM or APEI?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Universal Technical Institute?

Which has more volatility & risk, UTI or APEI?

Do analysts rate UTI or APEI?

Is UTI or APEI more profitable?

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of UTI or APEI?

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, UTI or APEI?

Does the media prefer UTI or APEI?

Summary

How does American Public Education compare to Lincoln Educational Services?

Does the media favor LINC or APEI?

Do analysts rate LINC or APEI?

Which has more volatility and risk, LINC or APEI?

Which has better valuation and earnings, LINC or APEI?

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

Is LINC or APEI more profitable?

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