American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research downgraded shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on APEI. William Blair set a $58.00 price target on American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday. Barrington Research raised their target price on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Public Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Public Education has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

American Public Education Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ APEI opened at $52.91 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.43. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $25.80 and a 52-week high of $61.59. 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 quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.73 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 6.13%.American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Public Education will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total value of $150,849.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 40,527 shares in the company, valued at $2,264,243.49. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.68, for a total value of $1,113,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 49,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,779,378.56. The trade was a 28.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the third quarter worth $15,108,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Public Education by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 612,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,159,000 after buying an additional 49,008 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the third quarter worth $821,000. Crown Advisors Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Public Education in the fourth quarter worth $1,890,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 170,604 shares during the period. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key American Public Education News

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.

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.