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LINC vs. LOPE: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Schools stocks have likely encountered both Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC - Free Report) and Grand Canyon Education (LOPE - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and Grand Canyon Education are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that LINC has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

LINC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.10, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 16.14. We also note that LINC has a PEG ratio of 0.90. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08.

Another notable valuation metric for LINC is its P/B ratio of 1.56. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LOPE has a P/B of 3.64.

Based on these metrics and many more, LINC holds a Value grade of A, while LOPE has a Value grade of C.

LINC sticks out from LOPE in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that LINC is the better option right now.


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Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) - free report >>

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