5 GARP Stocks Based on Discounted PEG for a Winning Portfolio

In the equity market, investments need to be prudently hedged to overcome uncertainties and limit losses related to external shocks. A question that arises often 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.

Per the GARP theory, the strategic mingling of growth and value-investing principles gives us a hybrid strategy, offering an ideal investment 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).

Several stocks, which 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 five such stocks. These include Avis Budget Group CAR, APA Corporation APA, Imperial Oil IMO, Huntsman Corporation HUN and Pilgrim's Pride PPC.

A Few More Words on 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 the stocks’ P/E ratio with the 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.

Here are the five stocks out of the 17 that qualified the screening:

Avis Budget Group: Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., Avis Budget Group operates as a leading vehicle rental operator in North America, Europe and Australasia with an average rental fleet of nearly 650,000 vehicles. Avis Budget Group is a leading global provider of mobility solutions through its three most recognized brands — Avis, Budget and Zipcar. The company has licensees in approximately 175 countries throughout the world.

CAR 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, Avis Budget also has an impressive long-term historical growth rate of 48.3%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

APA: Houston, TX-based APA is one of the leading independent energy companies engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. Geographically, the company’s operations are in the United States, Egypt and the North Sea of the United Kingdom. APA also holds acreage offshore Suriname (South America) and in other international locations.

APA stock can also be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #2 and Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, APA has a solid long-term expected growth rate of 26.5%.

Imperial Oil: Calgary-based Imperial Oil is one of the largest integrated oil companies of Canada, mainly engaged in the oil and gas production, petroleum products refining and marketing and chemical business. It is Canada’s largest jet fuel supplier and a major producer of asphalt. Notably, Imperial Oil is the subsidiary of one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas companies, Exxon Mobil Corporation, which holds a 69.6% ownership stake.

Imperial Oil has an impressive growth rate of 30.3% for the next five years. The stock currently has a Value Score of B and carries a Zacks Rank #1.

Huntsman: Woodlands, TX-based Huntsman is among the world's largest manufacturers of differentiated and commodity chemical products. The company markets its products to a diverse group of industrial and consumer customers. Its products include MDI, polyols, propylene oxide, amines, surfactants, maleic anhydride, epoxy-based polymer formulations, textile chemicals and dyes.

Huntsman carries a Zacks Rank of 1 and has a Value Score of B. Huntsman has an impressive long-term historical growth rate of 12.3%.

Pilgrim's Pride: Greeley, CO-based Pilgrim's Pride has been focusing on strengthening its Prepared Foods category. The category added in the United States in 2019. Also, Pilgrim's Pride has been increasing its organic category product mix, including No-Antibiotics-Ever products, to cater to customers' evolving tastes.

Pilgrim's Pride 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, the stock also has a solid long-term expected growth rate of 14.9%.

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.

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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.

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Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
APA Corporation (APA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Imperial Oil Limited (IMO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Huntsman Corporation (HUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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