Zacks.com featured highlights include StoneCo, BGC, Qifu Technology and Universal Health Services

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – April 17, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are — like StoneCo Ltd. STNE, BGC Group, Inc. BGC, Qifu Technology, Inc. QFIN and Universal Health Services UHS.4 Discounted PEG Stocks Based on GARP Approach to Smart InvestingIn 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., BGC Group, Inc., Qifu Technology, Inc. and Universal Health Services.More on GARPThe 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 GARPGARP 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 RateIt 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.Our PicksHere 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.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2450209/4-discounted-peg-stocks-based-on-garp-approach-to-smart-investingZacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.Contact: Jim GiaquintoCompany: Zacks.comPhone: 312-265-9268Email: pr@zacks.comVisit: https://www.zacks.com/Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone.See Stocks Now >>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 BGC Group, Inc. (BGC): Free Stock Analysis Report Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS): Free Stock Analysis Report StoneCo Ltd. (STNE): Free Stock Analysis Report Qifu Technology, Inc. (QFIN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks