American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) versus Nerdy (NYSE:NRDY) Head to Head Review

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and Nerdy (NYSE:NRDY) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for American Public Education and Nerdy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Public Education	0	3	3	1	2.71
Nerdy	1	1	0	0	1.50

American Public Education presently has a consensus target price of $59.38, indicating a potential upside of 28.60%. Nerdy has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 168.43%. Given Nerdy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Nerdy is more favorable than American Public Education.

Profitability

This table compares American Public Education and Nerdy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Public Education	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nerdy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.1% of Nerdy shares are held by institutional investors. 10.6% of American Public Education shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.0% of Nerdy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

American Public Education has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nerdy has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Public Education and Nerdy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Public Education	$668.01 million	1.26	$44.47 million	$2.43	19.00
Nerdy	$178.10 million	0.40	-$47.92 million	($3.75)	-1.49

American Public Education has higher revenue and earnings than Nerdy. Nerdy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

American Public Education beats Nerdy on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce. It also provides nursing-and health sciences-focused postsecondary education, pre-licensure nursing programs, diploma in practical nursing, and an associate degree in nursing. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.

About Nerdy

Nerdy, Inc. operates platform for live online learning. The company's purpose-built proprietary platform leverages technology, including artificial intelligence to connect students, users, parents, guardians, and purchasers of various ages to tutors, instructors, subject matter experts, educators, and other professionals, delivering value on both sides of the network. Its learning destination provides learning experiences across various subjects and multiple formats, including one-on-one instruction, small group tutoring, large format classes, tutor chat, essay review, adaptive assessment, and self-study tools. The company's flagship business, Varsity Tutors, operates platforms for live online tutoring and classes. Its solutions are available directly to learners, as well as through education systems. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.