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ATGE or LINC: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Schools sector have probably already heard of Adtalem Global Education (ATGE - Free Report) and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Both Adtalem Global Education and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation have a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

ATGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.58, while LINC has a forward P/E of 28.49. We also note that ATGE has a PEG ratio of 1.24. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. LINC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.90.

Another notable valuation metric for ATGE is its P/B ratio of 3.73. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, LINC has a P/B of 3.76.

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

Both ATGE and LINC 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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Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) - free report >>

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