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TAL or LOPE: 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 TAL Education (TAL - 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.

Currently, TAL Education has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Grand Canyon Education has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that TAL's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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 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.

TAL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.94, while LOPE has a forward P/E of 15.14. We also note that TAL has a PEG ratio of 0.58. 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. LOPE currently has a PEG ratio of 1.01.

Another notable valuation metric for TAL is its P/B ratio of 1.51. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, LOPE has a P/B of 5.79.

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

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

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