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

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 20th, 2026

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI – Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.3750.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday, June 1st.

Get Our Latest Research Report on APEI

American Public Education Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $44.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $818.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.38. American Public Education has a one year low of $29.05 and a one year high of $61.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.16. American Public Education had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.84%.The firm had revenue of $171.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Sell-side analysts predict that American Public Education will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In related news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 52,172 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,288. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APEI. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of American Public Education by 158.9% during the 2nd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 30,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 18,837 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in American Public Education by 350.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 80,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 62,746 shares during the period. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in American Public Education during the 2nd quarter worth $2,873,000. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in American Public Education during the 2nd quarter worth $2,498,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the second quarter worth $3,721,000. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Public Education Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.