Northland Securities Has Positive View of APEI Q1 Earnings

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) – Analysts at Northland Securities increased their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for American Public Education in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, March 13th. Northland Securities analyst L. Horton now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.62 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.54. The consensus estimate for American Public Education’s current full-year earnings is $0.47 per share. Northland Securities also issued estimates for American Public Education’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.61 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on APEI. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on American Public Education from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of American Public Education from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Griffin Securities set a $53.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.25.

American Public Education Trading Up 21.2%

NASDAQ:APEI opened at $57.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.70. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $20.75 and a 52-week high of $58.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APEI. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 63,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 51,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 110,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in American Public Education in the 4th quarter valued at $997,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in American Public Education by 99.9% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 12,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 6,132 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about American Public Education

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on both revenue and EPS, with revenue of $158.3M and EPS $0.67 (above estimates); operating cash jumped materially — supports valuation and upside expectations. Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company issued Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.58–$0.64 (above consensus $0.55) and FY 2026 revenue guidance of $685M–$695M — the beat / above-consensus guidance is a primary driver of the intraday rally. Guidance Article
• Positive Sentiment: Completed a $130M senior secured credit facility (5-year) — reduces borrowing costs (~$3.7M annualized reported) and strengthens liquidity to support growth/expansion plans. Refinancing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst firms raised price targets and reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings (B. Riley to $57, Lake Street to $56, Barrington to $56) — analyst upward revisions provide validation and can attract momentum buyers. Analyst Raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for detail; management commentary will matter for longer-term margin outlook and campus expansion cadence. Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beats, gross profit and operating profit declined year-over-year (per third-party summary) and some insiders sold shares recently — these items are watch points for margin recovery and insider confidence. Profitability & Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Some updated analyst price targets still sit near or below the current market price, implying limited near-term upside from select desks — monitor revisions as analysts factor guidance and margins. Analyst Targets Detail

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.