American Public Education (APEI) reported $152.8 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 2023, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.2%. EPS of $0.64 for the same period compares to -$0.27 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +1.50% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $150.54 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.14, the EPS surprise was +357.14%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how American Public Education performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenues- Corporate and Other: $5.08 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $7.11 million.

• Revenues- Hondros College, Nursing Programs (HCN): $15.79 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $14.77 million.

• Revenues- American Military & Public University (APUS): $79.36 million versus $76.69 million estimated by two analysts on average.

• Revenues- Rasmussen University (RU): $52.58 million versus $52.65 million estimated by two analysts on average.

View all Key Company Metrics for American Public Education here>>>

Shares of American Public Education have returned +3.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.

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