American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, William Blair set a $58.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Up 1.8%

APEI stock opened at $54.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $999.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.49. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $27.74 and a 52-week high of $61.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates 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 anticipate that American Public Education will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,288. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.