American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.480-2.790 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.930. The company issued revenue guidance of $690.0 million-$698.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $691.0 million. American Public Education also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.180-0.290 EPS.

American Public Education Stock Down 7.5%

NASDAQ:APEI traded down $3.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $47.39. The company had a trading volume of 549,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,431. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. American Public Education has a 1 year low of $27.74 and a 1 year high of $61.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $869.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.38.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.16. American Public Education had a return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 6.13%.The company had revenue of $171.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.88 million. American Public Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.790 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.180-0.290 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APEI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.12.

Insider Activity

In other American Public Education news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APEI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in American Public Education by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP grew its position in American Public Education by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 7,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in American Public Education by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 5.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 9.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

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.