Investors interested in Schools stocks are likely familiar with Adtalem Global Education (NYSE:ATGE) and Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Adtalem Global Education and Grand Canyon Education are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ATGE has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.
The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.
ATGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.74, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 14.72. We also note that ATGE has a PEG ratio of 0.78. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 0.98.
Another notable valuation metric for ATGE is its P/B ratio of 1.34. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LOPE has a P/B of 2.84.
These metrics, and several others, help ATGE earn a Value grade of A, while LOPE has been given a Value grade of C.
ATGE stands above LOPE thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ATGE is the superior value option right now.
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Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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