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

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Investors interested in Schools stocks are likely familiar with Adtalem Global Education (ATGE - Free Report) and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Adtalem Global Education is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Lincoln Educational Services Corporation has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ATGE likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than LINC has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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 grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

ATGE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.25, while LINC has a forward P/E of 27.67. We also note that ATGE has a PEG ratio of 0.82. 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. LINC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.84.

Another notable valuation metric for ATGE is its P/B ratio of 2.4. 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, LINC has a P/B of 3.86.

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

ATGE sticks out from LINC in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that ATGE is the better option right now.


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

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