American Public Education Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

American Public Education (NAS: APEI) reported earnings on Nov. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), American Public Education met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly and GAAP earnings per share didn't change.


Gross margins increased, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
 American Public Education reported revenue of $77.1 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $77.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $65.3 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.60. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.50 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.60 were the same as the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 65.7%, 240 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.7%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.0%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $87.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.71.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $315.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.27.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 266 members out of 280 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 97 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 93 give American Public Education a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on American Public Education is outperform, with an average price target of $39.89.

The article American Public Education Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of American Public Education. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend American Public Education. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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