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

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.72 and last traded at $58.26, with a volume of 216778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial boosted 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

American Public Education Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 43.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.50.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.The firm 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. Research analysts expect that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.68, for a total transaction of $1,113,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 49,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,779,378.56. This trade represents a 28.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total transaction of $150,849.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 40,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,243.49. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. Company insiders own 17.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 4.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 538,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,018,000 after buying an additional 21,079 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 97,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Public Education by 4.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 422,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,882,000 after acquiring an additional 17,079 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in American Public Education by 14.8% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 3,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. 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.