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4 Discounted PEG Stocks Based on GARP Approach to Smart Investing
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In the equity market, investments always need to be prudently hedged to overcome uncertainties and limit losses related to external shocks. A question that often arises is whether one should resort to a value strategy that seeks discounted stocks or opt for growth investing in times of extreme market instability.
The investing track of the Oracle of Omaha over the past few decades and his gradual shift from being a pure-play value investor to a GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investor might give us all the answers.
Several stocks that have surged significantly in the recent past show an overwhelming success of this hybrid investing strategy over pure-play value and growth investments. Here, we will discuss the success of four such stocks. These are StoneCo Ltd. (STNE - Free Report) , BGC Group, Inc. (BGC - Free Report) , Qifu Technology, Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) and Universal Health Services (UHS - Free Report) .
More on GARP
The GARP theory enables strategic mingling of growth and value-investing principles, which gives us a hybrid strategy by utilizing the best features of both. What GARPers look for is whether or not the stocks are somewhat undervalued and have solid sustainable growth potential (Investopedia).
PEG Ratio and GARP
GARP investing gives priority to one of the popular value metrics — the price/earnings growth (PEG) ratio. 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 stocks’ P/E ratio with their future earnings growth rates.
While P/E alone gives an idea of stocks that are trading at a discount, PEG, while adding the growth element to it, helps identify stocks with 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 0.66, a ratio indicating 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 over the long term.
Hence, PEG-based investing can 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.
Our Picks
Here are the four stocks that qualified the screening:
StoneCo: This Brazilian company provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online and mobile channels. StoneCo distributes its solutions principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offers hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.
StoneCo stock can be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, STNE also has an impressive long-term expected earnings growth rate of 26.3%.
BGC Group: This is a global marketplace, data and financial technology services company operating in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific. BGC Group offers a broad range of products, including fixed income, foreign exchange, energy, commodities, shipping, and equities, and now includes the FMX Futures Exchange.
BGC can also be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, BGC Group also has a solid long-term expected growth rate of 24.7%.
Qifu Technology: This is an AI-driven Credit-Tech platform based in China. Utilizing advanced machine learning models and data analytics, Qifu Technology offers a full range of technology services that support financial institutions, consumers and SMEs throughout the loan lifecycle — including borrower acquisition, initial credit evaluation, fund matching and post-loan management.
Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, Qifu Technology has a Value Score of A and holds a Zacks Rank #1. QFIN stock also has a 39.1% earnings growth rate for the last five years.
Universal Health: King of Prussia, PA-based Universal Health Services owns and operates (through its subsidiaries) acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, surgical hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and radiation oncology centers. The company's range of services includes general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services and/or behavioral health services.
The stock can 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 earnings growth rate of 16.9%.
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.
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.
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4 Discounted PEG Stocks Based on GARP Approach to Smart Investing
In the equity market, investments always need to be prudently hedged to overcome uncertainties and limit losses related to external shocks. A question that often arises is whether one should resort to a value strategy that seeks discounted stocks or opt for growth investing in times of extreme market instability.
The investing track of the Oracle of Omaha over the past few decades and his gradual shift from being a pure-play value investor to a GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investor might give us all the answers.
Several stocks that have surged significantly in the recent past show an overwhelming success of this hybrid investing strategy over pure-play value and growth investments. Here, we will discuss the success of four such stocks. These are StoneCo Ltd. (STNE - Free Report) , BGC Group, Inc. (BGC - Free Report) , Qifu Technology, Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) and Universal Health Services (UHS - Free Report) .
More on GARP
The GARP theory enables strategic mingling of growth and value-investing principles, which gives us a hybrid strategy by utilizing the best features of both. What GARPers look for is whether or not the stocks are somewhat undervalued and have solid sustainable growth potential (Investopedia).
PEG Ratio and GARP
GARP investing gives priority to one of the popular value metrics — the price/earnings growth (PEG) ratio. 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 stocks’ P/E ratio with their future earnings growth rates.
While P/E alone gives an idea of stocks that are trading at a discount, PEG, while adding the growth element to it, helps identify stocks with 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 0.66, a ratio indicating 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 over the long term.
Hence, PEG-based investing can 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.
Our Picks
Here are the four stocks that qualified the screening:
StoneCo: This Brazilian company provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online and mobile channels. StoneCo distributes its solutions principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offers hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.
StoneCo stock can be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, STNE also has an impressive long-term expected earnings growth rate of 26.3%.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BGC Group: This is a global marketplace, data and financial technology services company operating in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific. BGC Group offers a broad range of products, including fixed income, foreign exchange, energy, commodities, shipping, and equities, and now includes the FMX Futures Exchange.
BGC can also be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, BGC Group also has a solid long-term expected growth rate of 24.7%.
Qifu Technology: This is an AI-driven Credit-Tech platform based in China. Utilizing advanced machine learning models and data analytics, Qifu Technology offers a full range of technology services that support financial institutions, consumers and SMEs throughout the loan lifecycle — including borrower acquisition, initial credit evaluation, fund matching and post-loan management.
Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, Qifu Technology has a Value Score of A and holds a Zacks Rank #1. QFIN stock also has a 39.1% earnings growth rate for the last five years.
Universal Health: King of Prussia, PA-based Universal Health Services owns and operates (through its subsidiaries) acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, surgical hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and radiation oncology centers. The company's range of services includes general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services and/or behavioral health services.
The stock can 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 earnings growth rate of 16.9%.
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.