Investors interested in stocks from the Schools sector have probably already heard of Strategic Education (STRA Quick QuoteSTRA - Free Report) and Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM Quick QuoteBFAM - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Strategic Education and Bright Horizons Family Solutions are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that STRA likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BFAM has recently. 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 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.

STRA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.53, while BFAM has a forward P/E of 58.59. We also note that STRA has a PEG ratio of 1.55. 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. BFAM currently has a PEG ratio of 10.03.

Another notable valuation metric for STRA is its P/B ratio of 1.36. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, BFAM has a P/B of 8.14.

These metrics, and several others, help STRA earn a Value grade of B, while BFAM has been given a Value grade of D.

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