American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $59.60 and last traded at $59.54, with a volume of 215548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of American Public Education from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.50.

American Public Education Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.49.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $158.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.08, for a total value of $59,488.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 83,075 shares in the company, valued at $4,492,696. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider 325 Capital Llc sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.78, for a total transaction of $3,495,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 836,234 shares in the company, valued at $44,972,664.52. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. 17.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in American Public Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.