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Is American Public Education (APEI) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is American Public Education (APEI - Free Report) . APEI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 20.76, while its industry has an average P/E of 23. Over the past 52 weeks, APEI's Forward P/E has been as high as 4,091.70 and as low as -731.64, with a median of -6.11.

Investors should also note that APEI holds a PEG ratio of 1.38. 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. APEI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.47. Within the past year, APEI's PEG has been as high as 272.78 and as low as -48.78, with a median of -0.41.

Universal Technical Institute (UTI - Free Report) may be another strong Schools stock to add to your shortlist. UTI is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Shares of Universal Technical Institute currently holds a Forward P/E ratio of 19.50, and its PEG ratio is 1.30. In comparison, its industry sports average P/E and PEG ratios of 23 and 1.47.

UTI's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 60.56 and as low as 10.57, with a median of 13.65, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 4.04 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.91, all within the past year.

Furthermore, Universal Technical Institute holds a P/B ratio of 2.79 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 3.44. UTI's P/B has been as high as 2.79, as low as 1.27, with a median of 1.69 over the past 12 months.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that American Public Education and Universal Technical Institute are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, APEI and UTI sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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