American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on APEI. B. Riley Financial increased their target price 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. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Public Education has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of APEI stock opened at $58.04 on Monday. American Public Education has a twelve month low of $27.74 and a twelve month high of $61.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.90 and a 200 day moving average of $50.25. 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 (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.73 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.02%. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Public Education will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% during 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. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in American Public Education by 96.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.