Investors looking for stocks in the Schools sector might want to consider either American Public Education (APEI Quick QuoteAPEI - Free Report) or Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC Quick QuoteLINC - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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

Both American Public Education and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation have a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

APEI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.82, while LINC has a forward P/E of 26.25. We also note that APEI has a PEG ratio of 1.72. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. LINC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.75.

Another notable valuation metric for APEI is its P/B ratio of 1.30. 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, LINC has a P/B of 2.41.

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

Both APEI and LINC are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that APEI is the superior value option right now.