American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.96 and last traded at $40.73, with a volume of 19866 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.86.

Key Stories Impacting American Public Education

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple quarterly and full‑year EPS estimates (including FY2026 and FY2027) and maintains a “Strong‑Buy” stance — a clear positive for earnings expectations and investor sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: Lake Street reaffirmed its Buy rating on APEI, reinforcing sell‑side support from another institution. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities also remained a Buy on APEI, adding to the cluster of analyst confirmations that could support the stock if fundamentals continue to meet raised estimates. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a comparative piece on APEI vs. Universal Technical Institute (UTI) for value investors — useful context for investors deciding between peers but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive analyst activity, the stock is trading lower on relatively light volume and already sits near its 1‑year high with a P/E around 30 — factors that can limit near‑term upside as investors wait for confirmed delivery against upgraded forecasts.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of American Public Education from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

American Public Education Stock Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $726.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.39. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $163.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.02 million. American Public Education has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.320-0.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APEI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in American Public Education in the second quarter valued at $297,000. 4D Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Public Education by 111.1% in the second quarter. 4D Advisors LLC now owns 285,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,681,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 124.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 668,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,342,000 after buying an additional 370,894 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 563,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,151,000 after acquiring an additional 46,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in American Public Education by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 389,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,867,000 after purchasing an additional 168,362 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.