Analysts have raised their price target for American Public Education to $36.50, citing leadership in military and nursing education, operational gains at Rasmussen University, improved guidance, and undervaluation relative to peers.
Analyst Commentary
- Bullish analysts cite American Public Education’s leading market share in military education and strong positioning within the high-demand nursing segment, benefiting from an ongoing nurse shortage.
- Recent operational improvements at Rasmussen University, a subsidiary, are highlighted as a turning point contributing to overall company growth and profitability.
- Analysts are encouraged by the prospect of a more favorable regulatory environment, which could reduce headwinds for the company.
- Stronger-than-expected quarterly results, raised full-year guidance, and sustained enrollment and margin growth forecasts are driving upward price target revisions.
- Shares are seen as undervalued relative to for-profit education peers, offering significant multiple expansion potential as the business stabilizes and grows.
What's in the News
- The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Education Department, clearing a path for potentially significant changes affecting publicly traded education companies including American Public Education (APEI) (WSJ, 2025-07-15).
- American Public Education completed the full redemption of its Series A Senior Preferred Stock, paying $44.5 million using available cash on hand and subsequently eliminated the related charter provisions (Key Developments, 2025-07-01 & 2025-06-23).
- The company repurchased no shares in Q2 2025, maintaining the cumulative buyback at 431,555 shares (2.44% of shares outstanding), totaling $4.42 million under the previously announced program (Key Developments, 2025-08-06).
- American Public Education reset its FY2025 net income guidance lower, now expecting $18–24 million due to losses from the sale of Graduate School USA and the preferred equity redemption, but reaffirmed its revenue estimate between $650–660 million (Key Developments, 2025-08-06).
- For Q3 2025, the company projects consolidated revenue of $159–161 million and anticipates a net loss available to common stockholders of $0.8–2.9 million (Key Developments, 2025-08-06).
Valuation Changes
Summary of Valuation Changes for American Public Education
- The Consensus Analyst Price Target remained effectively unchanged, moving only marginally from $35.80 to $36.50.
- The Future P/E for American Public Education has risen from 12.94x to 13.68x.
- The Net Profit Margin for American Public Education has fallen slightly from 8.96% to 8.57%.
Disclaimer
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