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PRDO or LOPE: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Schools sector might want to consider either Perdoceo Education (PRDO - Free Report) or Grand Canyon Education (LOPE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Currently, Perdoceo Education has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Grand Canyon Education has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PRDO has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

PRDO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.49, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 18.36. We also note that PRDO has a PEG ratio of 0.50. 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 1.22.

Another notable valuation metric for PRDO is its P/B ratio of 1.21. 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 5.73.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PRDO's Value grade of A and LOPE's Value grade of C.

PRDO is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that PRDO is likely the superior value option right now.


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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE) - free report >>

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