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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Schools sector have probably already heard of Adtalem Global Education (ATGE - Free Report) and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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 has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) 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 just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ATGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.46, while LINC has a forward P/E of 23.73. We also note that ATGE has a PEG ratio of 0.90. 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. LINC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.58.

Another notable valuation metric for ATGE is its P/B ratio of 1.88. 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, LINC has a P/B of 2.18.

These metrics, and several others, help ATGE earn a Value grade of B, while LINC has been given a Value grade of C.

ATGE has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than LINC, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ATGE is the superior option right now.

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