Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Lincoln Educational Services (LINC) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Lincoln Educational Services (LINC - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. LINC is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Another notable valuation metric for LINC is its P/B ratio of 1.50. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.57. LINC's P/B has been as high as 2.30 and as low as 1.35, with a median of 1.84, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. LINC has a P/S ratio of 0.57. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.97.

Stride (LRN - Free Report) may be another strong Schools stock to add to your shortlist. LRN is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Stride currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 15.89, and its PEG ratio is 0.79. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 45.25 and 3.33.

LRN's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 23.22 and as low as 12.26, with a median of 16.69, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.16 and as low as 0.61, with a median of 0.83, all within the past year.

Stride sports a P/B ratio of 2.37 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.57. In the past 52 weeks, LRN's P/B has been as high as 2.37, as low as 1.39, with a median of 1.86.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Lincoln Educational Services and Stride are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, LINC and LRN feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) - free report >>

Stride, Inc. (LRN) - free report >>

Published in