Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for APEI

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for American Public Education in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.45. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for American Public Education’s current full-year earnings is $0.47 per share.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The company had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on American Public Education from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 target price on American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on American Public Education in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair set a $58.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

American Public Education Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ APEI opened at $56.88 on Monday. American Public Education has a 12-month low of $20.75 and a 12-month high of $59.42. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.32.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APEI. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 63,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,406,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in American Public Education by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 51,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 110,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth $997,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of American Public Education by 99.9% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 12,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 6,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other American Public Education news, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total transaction of $150,849.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 40,527 shares in the company, valued at $2,264,243.49. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.68, for a total value of $1,113,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 49,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,779,378.56. This represents a 28.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.