Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of APEI Q4 Earnings

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) – Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for shares of American Public Education in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 26th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.81 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.71. The consensus estimate for American Public Education’s current full-year earnings is $0.47 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Public Education’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.40 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.78 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.81 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.46 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.23 EPS.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.26. American Public Education had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The company had revenue of $164.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.92 million.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Public Education has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

American Public Education Trading Up 1.5%

APEI opened at $29.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.77 and a 200 day moving average of $22.45. The firm has a market cap of $536.51 million, a P/E ratio of 53.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. American Public Education has a 12 month low of $11.80 and a 12 month high of $30.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in American Public Education by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 507,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 37,492 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in American Public Education by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 13,344 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in American Public Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $858,000. 79.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 7,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $197,143.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,316,793.49. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $81,659.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,783.71. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Public Education Company Profile

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.