Contrasting American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and H&R Block (NYSE:HRB)

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for H&R Block and American Public Education, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H&R Block	1	3	1	0	2.00
American Public Education	0	2	6	0	2.75

H&R Block presently has a consensus target price of $46.67, indicating a potential upside of 1.86%. American Public Education has a consensus target price of $59.38, indicating a potential upside of 33.22%. Given American Public Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Public Education is more favorable than H&R Block.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.1% of H&R Block shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of H&R Block shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares H&R Block and American Public Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H&R Block	18.59%	-214.84%	22.56%
American Public Education	6.84%	15.30%	8.61%

Risk and Volatility

H&R Block has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares H&R Block and American Public Education”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
H&R Block	$3.95 billion	1.47	$733.60 million	$5.72	8.01
American Public Education	$648.86 million	1.26	$31.56 million	$2.43	18.34

H&R Block has higher revenue and earnings than American Public Education. H&R Block 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.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

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.