American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Issues Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) updated its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.810-1.070 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.950. The company issued revenue guidance of $179.4 million-$185.4 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $181.2 million. American Public Education also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.590-2.840 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of 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 cut shares of American Public Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Public Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of American Public Education to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.38.

American Public Education Stock Up 2.8%

American Public Education stock opened at $40.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $735.66 million, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25. American Public Education has a one year low of $32.96 and a one year high of $61.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.56 and a 200 day moving average of $49.53.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $169.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.79 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 6.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Public Education will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Public Education

In other news, insider James Kenigsberg sold 1,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.69, for a total transaction of $59,898.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,073,227.37. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Public Education News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: APEI reported third-quarter EPS of $0.32, beating the $0.26 consensus, and revenue of $169.14 million, ahead of the $165.79 million estimate. The company said revenue, net income, EPS and adjusted EBITDA all exceeded its guidance, and it raised full-year 2026 guidance across key metrics. American Public Education third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its EPS estimates for FY2026 to $2.70 from $2.58 and FY2027 to $3.10 from $3.06, alongside modest increases to its quarterly forecasts. The revisions suggest improved analyst expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $68 from $65 and maintained a “buy” rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: APEI’s fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $0.81–$1.07 brackets the $0.95 consensus, while its revenue range of $179.4 million–$185.4 million also brackets expectations. Full-year revenue guidance of $695 million–$701 million is above the $693.5 million consensus.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the increase in full-year guidance, the 2026 EPS range of $2.59–$2.84 has a midpoint below the $2.95 analyst consensus, which could temper the positive reaction to the earnings beat.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) is a provider of higher education through a portfolio of institutions that includes American Public University System, Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing. Its offerings span online and campus-based programs in areas such as nursing and health care, business, technology, education and public service. American Public University System includes American Military University and American Public University. Founded in 1991 as American Military University, it delivers online programs to military-affiliated students, public-service professionals and other learners in the United States and abroad.