American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Updates Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.340-0.390 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.470. The company issued revenue guidance of $170.0 million-$172.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $167.8 million. American Public Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.50.

American Public Education Stock Up 0.1%

APEI stock opened at $56.37 on Tuesday. American Public Education has a twelve month low of $25.31 and a twelve month high of $61.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.45, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.19.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.33. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $174.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.73 million. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Public Education will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Public Education

In other news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.08, for a total transaction of $59,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 83,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,492,696. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider 325 Capital Llc sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.78, for a total transaction of $3,495,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 836,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,972,664.52. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

American Public Education News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: APEI beat first-quarter expectations, posting EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.61 consensus and revenue of $174.74 million versus $173.73 million expected, which is a clear near-term fundamental positive. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised 2026 revenue guidance to $686 million-$696 million and set Q2 revenue guidance of $170 million-$172 million, both of which were in line with or above Street expectations, reinforcing confidence in the growth outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Prior to the release, analysts had expected a solid quarter, with estimates already leaning toward stronger earnings and revenue, so some of the upside may have been anticipated by traders. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed appears unreliable or incomplete, so it does not provide a clear signal for the stock right now.
• Neutral Sentiment: Background coverage highlighted APEI’s growth momentum and improving market sentiment ahead of earnings, which may have helped support the stock’s advance. Article Title

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of American Public Education by 5,909.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in American Public Education by 40.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in American Public Education by 96.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Public Education by 259.6% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.