5 Cheap Strong Buy Stocks: Values or Traps?
by Tracey Ryniec · Zacks Investment Research- (0:30) - Screening Criteria For Top Value Stocks
- (6:10) - Top Stocks To Keep On Your Watchlist Right Now
- (25:30) - Episode Roundup: DFH, THC, LOCO, GBX, MD
- Podcast@Zacks.com
Welcome to Episode #389 of the Value Investor Podcast.
Every week, Tracey Ryniec, the editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio, shares some of her top value investing tips and stock picks.
With the end of the year approaching, and the stock market rally still intact, it’s time to look at some cheap Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks. This is the highest Zacks Rank and makes up just 5% of all the Zacks Ranked stocks.
But just because they are cheap, on a price-to-earnings or price-to-sales basis, and have the Strong Buy recommendation, which usually means the analysts are raising earnings estimates, doesn’t mean that they are a true value.
Values or Traps: How to Tell?
Remember, just because a stock has a low P/E or P/S ratio, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a true value stock. The key is to look at the earnings growth that is expected for next year.
Is the company expected to grow earnings year-over-year?
Because while value investors want to buy cheap stocks, they also want companies that are growing earnings.
Screening for Cheap Strong Buy Stocks
Zacks has a premium screen called “Undervalued Zacks #1 Stocks” that looks for, obviously, Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, but also adds a cheapness component.
It must have a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio under 20 and a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio under 1. A P/S ratio under 1.0 indicates an investor is getting the sales at a discount.
Also, to avoid microcaps, the screen looks for stocks that are over $5 and have average trading volume over 100,000 per day.
This screen returned 15 stocks.
5 Cheap Strong Buy Stocks: Values or Traps?
1. Dream Finders Homes, Inc. (DFH Quick QuoteDFH - Free Report)
Dream Finders Homes is a Jacksonville, FL homebuilder with a market cap of $2.6 billion. It builds in 9 states including Florida and Texas.
Shares of Dream Finders Homes are down 14.2% year-to-date. It’s cheap with a forward P/E of just 8.1. Dream Finders Homes also has a P/S ratio of just 0.6. Earnings are expected to rise 20% in 2024.
It was recently announced that Dream Finders Homes was to join the S&P Small Cap 600 index.
Is Dream Finders Homes a value or a trap heading into 2025?
2. Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC Quick QuoteTHC - Free Report)
Tenet Healthcare is a large cap company in ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, outpatient facilities and other medical services.
Earnings are looking good in 2024. Tenet is expected to grow 2024 earnings by 63%. The analysts are bullish. 1 earnings estimate has been revised higher for 2024 and 2025 in the last week.
Shares of Tenet have soared 95% year-to-date but remain cheap. It has a forward P/E of just 13.5.
Is Tenet Healthcare a value or trap heading into 2025?
3. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO Quick QuoteLOCO - Free Report)
El Pollo Loco operates 495 restaurants in 7 states featuring fire grilled, fresh citrus marinated chicken. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, El Pollo Loco intends to expand to El Paso, Boise, Kansas City and Seattle-Tacoma in 2025.
Shares of El Pollo Loco have rallied 37% year-to-date but it is still cheap, with a forward P/E of just 15.8. Earnings of this small cap restaurant company are expected to rise 16.9% in 2024.
Is El Pollo Loco a value or a trap heading into 2025?
4. The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX Quick QuoteGBX - Free Report)
Greenbrier manufactures and leases freight railcars and offers freight services. It is a small cap company with a market cap of $2 billion.
An analyst is bullish. 1 earnings estimate has been revised higher in the last 30 days for both 2024 and 2025. Greenbrier’s earnings are expected to rise 4.8% in 2024.
Shares of Greenbrier are up 49% year-to-date and are trading near 5-year highs. Yet it’s still cheap with a forward P/E of just 12.4.
Is Greenbrier a value or a trap heading into 2025?
5. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (MD Quick QuoteMD - Free Report)
Pediatrix Medical Group is a national provider of prenatal, neonatal, and pediatric services. It has a market cap of $1.3 billion.
Analysts are bullish. 1 earnings estimate has been revised higher on Pediatrix Medical Group for 2024 in just the last week. Earnings are expected to be up 7.1% this year.
Shares of Pediatrix Medical Group have jumped 58% year-to-date. But it remains a cheap stock with a forward P/E of just 10.8.
Is Pediatrix Medical Group a value or a trap heading into 2025?
What Else Should You Know about Values Versus Traps?
Tune into this week’s podcast to find out.