American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock Price Down 5.3% – Here’s What Happened

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI)’s stock price fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $41.43 and last traded at $41.1350. Approximately 139,498 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 298,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on American Public Education from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

American Public Education Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $757.34 million, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 3.25.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $171.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.88 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.30%. American Public Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.790 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.180-0.290 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APEI. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of American Public Education by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 358,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,751 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in American Public Education by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 181,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 4,125 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 119,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,508,000 after purchasing an additional 19,736 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 350.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 80,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 62,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in American Public Education by 99.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after buying an additional 38,538 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc (NASDAQ: APEI) is an education-services company that provides postsecondary education and career-focused learning through its operating institutions. Its primary business is American Public University System (APUS), which includes American Public University and American Military University. APUS offers primarily online undergraduate and graduate programs designed for adult learners, military personnel, veterans, public-service professionals and other students seeking flexible higher education.

Through APUS, the company provides programs in areas such as business, cybersecurity, information technology, intelligence studies, public administration, health, nursing, education and the liberal arts.