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

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Investors with an interest in Schools stocks have likely encountered both Adtalem Global Education (ATGE - Free Report) and Grand Canyon Education (LOPE - 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.

Right now, both Adtalem Global Education and Grand Canyon Education are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

ATGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.11, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 18.70. We also note that ATGE has a PEG ratio of 0.67. 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. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.25.

Another notable valuation metric for ATGE is its P/B ratio of 1.22. 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, LOPE has a P/B of 5.84.

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

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


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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE) - free report >>

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