Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Strategic Education (STRA) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Strategic Education (STRA - Free Report) . STRA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.76. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.22. Over the past 52 weeks, STRA's Forward P/E has been as high as 27.11 and as low as 16.17, with a median of 20.96.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is STRA's P/B ratio of 1.41. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.65. STRA's P/B has been as high as 1.84 and as low as 1.23, with a median of 1.42, over the past year.

Finally, investors should note that STRA has a P/CF ratio of 13.85. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 53.94. Over the past year, STRA's P/CF has been as high as 20.84 and as low as 12.04, with a median of 16.97.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Strategic Education is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, STRA feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Strategic Education Inc. (STRA) - free report >>

Published in