Chegg (NYSE:CHGG – Get Free Report) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Chegg and American Public Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Chegg | -17.17% | -16.11% | -8.16% |
| American Public Education | 6.84% | 15.30% | 8.61% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
95.2% of Chegg shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Chegg shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Chegg has a beta of 2.26, indicating that its share price is 126% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Chegg and American Public Education, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Chegg | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 |
| American Public Education | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2.71 |
American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.00, suggesting a potential upside of 58.26%. Given American Public Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Chegg.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Chegg and American Public Education”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Chegg | $376.91 million | 0.18 | -$103.42 million | ($0.37) | -1.65 |
| American Public Education | $668.01 million | 1.02 | $31.56 million | $2.43 | 15.34 |
American Public Education has higher revenue and earnings than Chegg. Chegg is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
American Public Education beats Chegg on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Chegg
Chegg, Inc. operates a direct-to-student learning platform that helps learners build essential life and job skills to accelerate their path from learning programs in the United States and internationally. Its subscription services include Chegg Study, which offers personalized step-by-step learning support from AI, computational engines, and subject matter experts, as well as Tinger Gold and DashPash Student services; Chegg Writing that provides students with a suite of tools, such as plagiarism detection scans, grammar and writing fluency checking, expert personalized writing feedback, and premium citation generation; Chegg Math, a step-by-step math problem solver and calculator that helps students to solve problems; Chegg Study Pack, a bundle of various subscription product offerings, including Chegg Study, Chegg Writing, and Chegg Math services; and Busuu, an online language learning platform that offers comprehensive support through self-paced lessons, live classes with expert tutors, and a community of members to practice alongside. The company also provides a skills-based learning platform to learn technical skills comprising AI, coding, data analytics, and cybersecurity, as well as competencies consisting of emotional intelligence, mindset, emerging leadership, and decision making. In addition, it rents and sells print textbooks and eTextbooks; and offers advertising services. The company serves students and companies through direct marketing channels and social media. Chegg, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
About American Public Education
American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce. It also provides nursing-and health sciences-focused postsecondary education, pre-licensure nursing programs, diploma in practical nursing, and an associate degree in nursing. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.
Receive News & Ratings for Chegg Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chegg and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
