American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Receives $59.13 Average Price Target from Analysts

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $59.1250.

APEI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair set a $58.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a report on Friday, March 13th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total value of $150,849.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 40,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,243.49. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total transaction of $115,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,324.40. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

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

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of American Public Education stock opened at $52.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.59. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $61.59. The firm has a market cap of $965.60 million, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.38.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The firm had revenue of $174.74 million during 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. Sell-side analysts predict that American Public Education will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About American Public Education

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.