Lake Street Initiates Coverage of American Public Education with Buy Recommendation, Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 7.85% Upside

Lake Street initiated coverage of American Public Education (APEI) with a Buy recommendation. The average one-year price target is $25.84/share, representing a 7.85% upside from the latest closing price. The projected annual revenue is $654MM, a 4.71% increase. There are 283 funds reporting positions in APEI, with an average portfolio weight of 0.16%. The put/call ratio is 0.62, indicating a bullish outlook.

Lake Street has initiated coverage on American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) with a Buy rating and a price target of $30.00. Despite the company's shares doubling over the past year, they remain significantly below the $30 level last seen in October 2020 [1].

Analyst Eric Martinuzzi from Lake Street identifies several catalysts that could drive the stock upward, offering current investors an opportunity to benefit from potential growth. Martinuzzi expects these factors to help close the valuation gap between APEI and its industry peers [1].

The firm's outlook suggests confidence in APEI's ability to capitalize on market conditions and strategic initiatives that could fuel its trajectory towards the set price target [1].

Based on the one-year price targets offered by 3 analysts, the average target price for American Public Education Inc (APEI) is $25.33, with a high estimate of $28.00 and a low estimate of $24.00. The average target implies an upside of 6.31% from the current price of $23.83 [1].

The consensus recommendation from 4 brokerage firms is currently 1.8, indicating an "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell [1].

GuruFocus estimates the GF Value for American Public Education Inc (APEI) in one year is $14.54, suggesting a downside of 38.98% from the current price of $23.83 [1].

American Public Education Inc (APEI) outperformed its 4th quarter 2024 financial guidance, exceeding expectations for revenue, net income, and adjusted EBITDA. The full-year 2024 revenue of $624 million exceeded the top end of the original guidance and met the midpoint of the revised guidance [2].

Rasmussen University experienced positive year-over-year enrollment growth for the first time since APEI's acquisition, with a 4% increase in 2024. Hondros College of Nursing reported strong enrollment growth, marking the 20th consecutive quarter of year-over-year enrollment increases [2].

APEI plans to consolidate its three degree-granting institutions into a single entity, which is expected to simplify operations and provide revenue and cost synergies in the long term [2].

References:
[1] https://www.gurufocus.com/news/2804896/american-public-education-apei-rated-buy-with-strong-growth-potential-apei-stock-news
[2] https://quantisnow.com/insight/lake-street-initiated-coverage-on-american-public-education-with-a-new-price-target-6001961