American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APEI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. William Blair set a $58.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of American Public Education from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th.

American Public Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $56.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.97 and its 200 day moving average is $44.19. American Public Education has a 12 month low of $25.31 and a 12 month high of $61.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $174.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.73 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, insider 325 Capital Llc sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.78, for a total value of $3,495,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 836,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,972,664.52. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.08, for a total value of $59,488.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 83,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,492,696. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,893,000 after acquiring an additional 17,902 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 962,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,398,000 after purchasing an additional 34,700 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in American Public Education by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 847,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,277 shares during the period. No Street GP LP purchased a new stake in American Public Education in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,365,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in American Public Education by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 612,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,159,000 after purchasing an additional 49,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

Key American Public Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APEI reported Q1 2026 EPS of $0.94, topping the $0.61 consensus estimate, while revenue of $174.74 million also edged above expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised 2026 full-year revenue guidance to $686 million-$696 million, suggesting management sees stronger business momentum ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: APEI also guided Q2 revenue above Wall Street expectations, which supports the view that demand remains healthy even though Q2 EPS guidance came in below consensus. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brief earnings recap coverage confirmed the quarter’s results and highlighted improved profitability, but did not add new catalysts beyond the reported beat and updated guidance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings analyst coverage focused on expectations heading into the report, which is less likely to be a direct driver now that results are out. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 EPS guidance of $0.34-$0.39 fell below the $0.47 consensus estimate, which could temper some of the post-earnings enthusiasm. Article Title

American Public Education Company Profile

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.