American Public Education (APEI) Competitors

China Distance Education (NYSE:DL) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, community ranking, valuation, earnings, dividends and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer DL or APEI?

In the previous week, American Public Education had 16 more articles in the media than China Distance Education. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for American Public Education and 0 mentions for China Distance Education. American Public Education's average media sentiment score of 0.59 beat China Distance Education's score of 0.00 indicating that American Public Education is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
China Distance Education	Neutral
American Public Education	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, DL or APEI?

China Distance Education has higher earnings, but lower revenue than American Public Education. China Distance Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Public Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
China Distance Education	$209.56M	1.59	$5.84M	$0.31	31.39
American Public Education	$600.54M	0.59	-$47.29M	$0.56	35.48

Which has more volatility and risk, DL or APEI?

China Distance Education has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Public Education has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of DL or APEI?

14.9% of China Distance Education shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.6% of China Distance Education shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.4% of American Public Education shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor DL or APEI?

American Public Education received 55 more outperform votes than China Distance Education when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.71% of users gave China Distance Education an outperform vote while only 61.11% of users gave American Public Education an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
China Distance Education	Outperform Votes 286 64.71%	Underperform Votes 156 35.29%
American Public Education	Outperform Votes 341 61.11%	Underperform Votes 217 38.89%

Is DL or APEI more profitable?

China Distance Education has a net margin of 4.98% compared to American Public Education's net margin of 2.64%. China Distance Education's return on equity of 8.65% beat American Public Education's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
China Distance Education	4.98%	8.65%	2.61%
American Public Education	2.64%	6.96%	3.10%

Do analysts prefer DL or APEI?

American Public Education has a consensus price target of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.75%. Given American Public Education's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Public Education is more favorable than China Distance Education.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
China Distance Education	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
American Public Education	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Summary

American Public Education beats China Distance Education on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.