American Public Education, Inc. $APEI Shares Bought by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) by 1,557.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,384 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,697 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in American Public Education were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 263,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,962,000 after acquiring an additional 22,472 shares during the last quarter. Crown Advisors Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Public Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in American Public Education by 511.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in American Public Education during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More American Public Education News

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

• Positive Sentiment: APEI reported first-quarter EPS of $0.94, well above the $0.61 consensus, while revenue of $174.74 million also edged past estimates. Management said higher Military+ activity and stronger Health+ enrollment helped boost margins, supporting the bullish reaction. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised 2026 guidance, signaling confidence in continued demand and profitability. It also guided second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, even though EPS guidance was below consensus, which still suggests a solid top-line outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley Financial lifted its price target on APEI from $67 to $68 and reiterated a buy rating, reflecting continued analyst confidence after the earnings beat. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings-call coverage and transcript posts add context, but they do not appear to introduce new material information beyond the quarterly results and updated guidance. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APEI shares. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider 325 Capital Llc sold 65,000 shares of American Public Education stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.78, for a total transaction of $3,495,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 836,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,972,664.52. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total transaction of $115,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 62,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,324.40. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 377,071 shares of company stock worth $20,753,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of APEI opened at $53.00 on Wednesday. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.80 and a 1 year high of $61.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $975.73 million, a PE ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.31.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.73 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.32%. American Public Education has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.