American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

APEI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barrington Research increased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.13.

American Public Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $52.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $970.37 million, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.43. American Public Education has a fifty-two week low of $25.80 and a fifty-two week high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $174.74 million during 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. Equities research analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Public Education news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.87, for a total value of $350,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,175 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,507.25. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total transaction of $115,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,324.40. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 99.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 38,538 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 39,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,322 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 62,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 193.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 10,205 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting American Public Education

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

• Positive Sentiment: APEI reported Q1 earnings of $0.94 per share, well above the $0.61 consensus, and revenue also topped estimates; management raised its 2026 outlook, with Zacks noting stronger Military+ activity and Health+ enrollment helped margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley Financial raised its price target on APEI to $68 from $67 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities lifted its earnings estimates for APEI across 2026 and 2027, including FY2026 EPS to $2.53 from $2.35, Q2 2026 EPS to $0.37 from $0.35, and FY2027 EPS to $3.05 from $3.04, reflecting improved expectations after the earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland also trimmed its Q4 2026 EPS forecast to $0.81 from $0.90, but that weaker near-term view was offset by higher full-year estimates and a stronger longer-term outlook.

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.