American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.1250.

APEI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. William Blair set a $58.00 price target on American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

American Public Education Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of APEI stock opened at $52.39 on Friday. American Public Education has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $61.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $960.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.38.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Public Education will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other American Public Education news, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,264,243.49. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.68, for a total transaction of $1,113,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,779,378.56. The trade was a 28.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569 in the last quarter. 10.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. No Street GP LP acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the third quarter worth about $32,365,000. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in American Public Education during the third quarter worth about $15,108,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 1,667.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 180,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 170,604 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 122.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,619,000 after acquiring an additional 162,318 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in American Public Education by 1,025.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 130,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,937,000 after acquiring an additional 118,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

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.