7 Finest PEG Stocks for GARP Investors

The investing track of the Oracle of Omaha over the past few decades shows a gradual shift from being a pure-play value investor to a GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investor. The logic behind this is the effectiveness of a mixed investment strategy over pure play, value or growth approaches of investments.

A pure-play value investor misses the chance of betting on stocks that have bright long-term prospects. In the same way, growth investors often end up investing in expensive stocks. In other words, to make a long-term investment more effective, the principles of both value and growth strategies need to be combined.

The quest for a mixed investment strategy led to the introduction of the GARP (growth at a reasonable price) approach. What GARPers look for is whether the stocks are somewhat undervalued and have solid sustainable growth potential (Investopedia).

One of the fundamental metrics for finding GARP is the price/earnings growth ratio (PEG). Although it is categorized under value investing, this strategy follows the principles of both growth and value investing.

The PEG ratio is defined as (Price/ Earnings)/Earnings Growth Rate

It relates a stock’s P/E ratio with future earnings growth rate.

While P/E alone only gives the idea of stocks, which are trading at a discount, PEG, while adding the GROWTH element to it, helps to find those stocks that have solid future potential.

A lower PEG ratio, preferably less than 1, is always better for GARP investors.

Say for example, if a stock's P/E ratio is 10 and the expected long-term growth rate is 15%, the company's PEG will come down to 0.66that indicates both undervaluation and future growth potential.

Unfortunately, this ratio is often neglected due to investors' limitations to calculate the future earnings growth rate of a stock.

There are some drawbacks to using the PEG ratio though. It does not consider the very common situation of changing growth rates such as the forecast of the first three years at a very high growth rate followed by a sustainable but lower growth rate in the long term.

Hence, PEG-based investing can turn out to be even more rewarding if some other relevant parameters are also taken into consideration.

Here are the screening criteria for a winning strategy:

PEG Ratio less than X Industry Median

P/E Ratio (using F1) less than X Industry Median (For more accurate valuation purpose)

Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) (Whether good market conditions or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 have a proven history of success.)

Market Capitalization greater than $1 Billion (This helps us to focus on companies that have strong liquidity.)

Average 20 Day Volume greater than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.

Percentage Change F1 Earnings Estimate Revisions (4 Weeks) greater than 5%: Upward estimate revisions add to the optimism, suggesting further bullishness.

Value Score of less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Style Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1, 2,or 3 (Hold) offer the best upside potential. 

Here are seven of the 19 stocks that qualified the screening:

Albertsons Companies, Inc. ACI: This is a food and drug retailer that operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with more than 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets,and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. The stock can be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock also has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 12%. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Westlake Chemical Corporation WLK: Headquartered in Houston, this is a global manufacturer and supplier of materials and innovative products, ranging from building products and infrastructure materials to packaging and healthcare products to automotive and consumer goods.The stock can also be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock also has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 49.7% for 2022.

Olin Corporation OLN is a vertically-integrated global producer and distributor of chemical products and, aU.S. maker of ammunition. Internationally, the company operates in regions including Latin America, Asia Pacific,and Europe. The company has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 52.2%. The stock currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2.

Boise Cascade, L.L.C. BCC: This is one of the largest producers of engineered wood products and plywood in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products.Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock has a Value Score of A and holds a Zacks Rank #1.

Schneider National SNDR: This leading transportation and logistics services company offers a portfolio of premier truckload, intermodal,and logistics solutions. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Value Score of A. The company has an impressive long-term earnings growth expectation of 17.9%.

Flex Ltd. FLEX is a Singapore-based provider of “Sketch-to-Scale” services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company provides end-to-end services i.e. designing, engineering, manufacturing, as well as supply chain services & solutions. The company has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 11.9%. The stock currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2.

Avis Budget Group, Inc. CAR: The company is a leading global provider of mobility solutions through its three most recognized brands — Avis, Budget, and Zipcar. The company has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 57.2%. The stock currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #1.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Flex Ltd. (FLEX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Olin Corporation (OLN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Boise Cascade, L.L.C. (BCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Schneider National, Inc. (SNDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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By Matt Earle

Matthew Earle is the Founder of MiningFeeds. In 2005, Matt founded MiningNerds.com to provide data and information to the mining investment community. This site was merged with Highgrade Review to form MiningFeeds. Matt has a B.Sc. degree with a minor in geology from the University of Toronto.

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