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

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Investors interested in stocks from the Schools sector have probably already heard of American Public Education (APEI - 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.

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 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.

American Public Education has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Grand Canyon Education has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that APEI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than LOPE has recently. 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

APEI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.47, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 22.55. We also note that APEI has a PEG ratio of 1.30. 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. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.50.

Another notable valuation metric for APEI is its P/B ratio of 1.85. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LOPE has a P/B of 7.09.

Based on these metrics and many more, APEI holds a Value grade of A, while LOPE has a Value grade of D.

APEI has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than LOPE, so it seems like value investors will conclude that APEI is the superior option right now.


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American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) - free report >>

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