American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.580-0.640 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.550. The company issued revenue guidance of $173.0 million-$175.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $166.4 million. American Public Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on APEI shares. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on American Public Education from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 target price on American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.71.

American Public Education Stock Up 4.0%

American Public Education stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.58. 668,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,970. American Public Education has a 1 year low of $20.75 and a 1 year high of $47.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The firm has a market cap of $860.48 million, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.94.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 4.87%.The company had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Public Education will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 96.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Public Education by 259.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.