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

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.1250.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Zacks Research downgraded American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

American Public Education Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:APEI opened at $52.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $27.74 and a 52-week high of $61.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.19. The company has a market capitalization of $956.95 million, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.38.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.33. American Public Education had a return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 6.13%.The business had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in American Public Education by 5,909.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in American Public Education by 84.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in American Public Education by 40.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in American Public Education by 96.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.