American Public Education's (NASDAQ:APEI) investors will be pleased with their strong 107% return over the last year

Unless you borrow money to invest, the potential losses are limited. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. Take, for example American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI). Its share price is already up an impressive 107% in the last twelve months. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 12% gain in the last three months. On the other hand, longer term shareholders have had a tougher run, with the stock falling 62% in three years.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for American Public Education

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

American Public Education was able to grow EPS by 52% in the last twelve months. Though we do note extraordinary items affected the bottom line. This EPS growth is significantly lower than the 107% increase in the share price. This indicates that the market is now more optimistic about the stock.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-per-share-growth

We know that American Public Education has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think American Public Education will grow revenue in the future.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that American Public Education shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 107% over one year. That certainly beats the loss of about 10% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for American Public Education you should know about.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.