PRDO vs. LOPE: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

LOPE PRDO

Investors interested in Schools stocks are likely familiar with Perdoceo Education (PRDO - Free Report) and Grand Canyon Education (LOPE - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Perdoceo Education and Grand Canyon Education are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong 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 PRDO has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture 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.

PRDO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.85, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 17.99. We also note that PRDO has a PEG ratio of 0.72. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.20.

Another notable valuation metric for PRDO is its P/B ratio of 2.54. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, LOPE has a P/B of 3.14.

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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