Back to top

Image: Bigstock

PRDO vs. LINC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Schools sector might want to consider either Perdoceo Education (PRDO - Free Report) or Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC - 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.

Perdoceo Education and Lincoln Educational Services Corporation are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This means that PRDO's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

PRDO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.11, while LINC has a forward P/E of 29.74. We also note that PRDO has a PEG ratio of 0.61. 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. LINC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.98.

Another notable valuation metric for PRDO is its P/B ratio of 1.71. 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, LINC has a P/B of 3.89.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PRDO's Value grade of A and LINC's Value grade of C.

PRDO is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that PRDO is likely the superior value option right now.

Published in