American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares American Public Education and Sunlands Technology Group's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| American Public Education | $286.27 million | 1.79 | $10.01 million | $1.09 | 25.11 |
| Sunlands Technology Group | $315.13 million | 0.58 | $-56,710,000.00 | N/A | N/A |
American Public Education has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sunlands Technology Group.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for American Public Education and Sunlands Technology Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| American Public Education | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.86 |
| Sunlands Technology Group | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
American Public Education presently has a consensus target price of $41.3333, indicating a potential upside of 51.02%. Given American Public Education's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Sunlands Technology Group.
Volatility and Risk
American Public Education has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunlands Technology Group has a beta of 1.89, suggesting that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares American Public Education and Sunlands Technology Group's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| American Public Education | 5.63% | 5.95% | 4.88% |
| Sunlands Technology Group | -23.00% | N/A | -13.37% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
91.7% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.9% of Sunlands Technology Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of American Public Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
American Public Education beats Sunlands Technology Group on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
