American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Shares Down 7.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) were down 7.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $53.97 and last traded at $53.8550. 245,974 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 293,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.04.

Key American Public Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded APEI to Strong Buy, signaling stronger analyst confidence in the company’s outlook. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: The firm raised FY2027 EPS estimates to $2.89 from $2.85, and also lifted near-term forecasts for Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and Q4 2027. Better earnings expectations often boost investor sentiment. Tickerreport.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, the company’s estimates for some future periods were slightly trimmed, including Q1 2028 and Q2 2028, suggesting the long-range outlook is still mixed. Tickerreport.com

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APEI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.12.

American Public Education Stock Up 4.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $938.64 million, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.33. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The company had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in American Public Education by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 263,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,962,000 after buying an additional 22,472 shares during the period. Crown Advisors Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter valued at $1,890,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 358,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,751 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 119,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 19,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1,667.5% in 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. 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.