Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Schools stocks are likely familiar with Perdoceo Education (PRDO - Free Report) and K12 (LRN - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Perdoceo Education and K12 are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that PRDO has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

PRDO currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.79, while LRN has a forward P/E of 16.66. We also note that PRDO has a PEG ratio of 0.79. 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. LRN currently has a PEG ratio of 0.83.

Another notable valuation metric for PRDO is its P/B ratio of 1.98. 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, LRN has a P/B of 3.97.

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

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

See More Zacks Research for These Tickers

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

Published in