Reviewing American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and China Education Resources (OTCMKTS:CHNUF)

China Education Resources (OTCMKTS:CHNUF) and American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.6% of China Education Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. 11.4% of American Public Education shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares China Education Resources and American Public Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
China Education Resources	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Public Education	1.73%	6.88%	3.05%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares China Education Resources and American Public Education”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
China Education Resources	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.07)	N/A
American Public Education	$610.97 million	0.44	-$47.29 million	($2.62)	-5.79

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for China Education Resources and American Public Education, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
China Education Resources	0	0	0	0	N/A
American Public Education	0	1	2	0	2.67

American Public Education has a consensus target price of $16.33, suggesting a potential upside of 7.67%.

Summary

American Public Education beats China Education Resources on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About China Education Resources

China Education Resources Inc., an ed-tech company, provides education resources and services for teachers, students, parents, education professionals, and school administrators in the People's Republic of China and China. The company provides systems and contents for online/offline learning, training courses, and social media. It operates an education services portal, cersp.com that provides education resources and services to China's kindergarten to grade 12 education market. The company's portal offers school platform that provides a link between a school with its teachers, students, and parents; online tutoring program, a platform developed for a teacher to provide online tutoring services through the internet to students; and digital education products containing digital textbook tutorial materials and digital supplementary materials, such as lesson plans, course modules, and tests. It also develops and distributes educational textbooks and materials to bookstores and schools. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce. It also provides nursing-and health sciences-focused postsecondary education, pre-licensure nursing programs, diploma in practical nursing, and an associate degree in nursing. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.