American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Releases 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.

American Public Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:APEI traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.58. The company had a trading volume of 685,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,786. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.94. American Public Education has a one year low of $20.75 and a one year high of $47.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $860.48 million, a PE ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.75%. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Public Education will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on American Public Education in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on American Public Education from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price objective on American Public Education in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Public Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.71.

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in American Public Education by 5,909.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of American Public Education by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 96.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Public Education by 259.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

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.