Zacks.com featured highlights include JD.com, Universal Health Services, Fresenius Medical Care and Qifu Technology

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – March 31, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are JD.com JD, Universal Health Services UHS, Fresenius Medical Care FMS and Qifu Technology, Inc. QFIN.4 Best Value Stocks with Low PEG to Boost Your Portfolio ReturnsAt a time when volatility strikes every second day, investors often rely on value investing rather than other options like growth or momentum. As soon as other investors start selling their stocks at a cheaper rate in times of market uncertainty, value investors take this as an opportunity to pick good stocks at a discounted price.Several stocks that have surged significantly in the recent past have shown the overwhelming success of this pure-play investment strategy. Here, we discuss four such stocks — JD.com, Universal Health Services, Fresenius Medical Care and Qifu Technology, Inc..However, this apparently simple value investment technique has some drawbacks and not understanding the strategy properly may often lead to "value traps." In such a situation, these value picks start to underperform over the long run as the temporary problems, which once drove the share price down, turn out to be persistent.There are many value investment yardsticks, such as dividend yield, P/E or P/B, which are simple and can single out whether a stock is trading at a discount.However, for investors looking to escape such value traps, it is also vital to determine where the stocks will be headed in the next 12 to 24 months. Warren Buffett advises these investors to focus on the earnings growth potential of a stock. This is where lies the importance of a not-so-popular value investing metric, the PEG ratio.PEG Ratio at a GlanceThe PEG ratio is defined as (Price/ Earnings)/Earnings Growth RateA low PEG ratio is always better for value investors.While P/E alone fails to identify a true value stock, PEG helps find the intrinsic value of a stock.There are some drawbacks to using the PEG ratio. It doesn't 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 turn out to be even more rewarding if some other relevant parameters are also taken into consideration.Here are four out of the 10 stocks that qualified the screening:JD: The company is a supply chain-focused technology and service provider in China. It offers a diverse range of products, including computers, communication devices, and consumer electronics, along with home appliances. Its general merchandise portfolio spans food, beverages, fresh produce, baby and maternity products, furniture, household essentials, cosmetics, personal care items, pharmaceuticals, healthcare products, industrial supplies, books, automotive accessories, apparel, footwear, bags, and jewelry.JD.com currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A. JD also has an impressive five-year historical growth rate of 44.3%.Universal Health: King of Prussia, PA-based Universal Health 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, and diagnostic care, among others.Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, UHS currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. Universal Health has a long-term expected growth rate of 16.9%.Fresenius Medical: Based in Bad Homburg, Germany, Fresenius Medical Care is one of the largest integrated providers of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis following chronic kidney failure. Fresenius Medical manufactures a variety of durable medical devices used for the treatment of end-stage renal disease.Fresenius Medical has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A. FMS also has an impressive five-year expected growth rate of 11.9%.Qifu Technology: This is a leading AI-empowered Credit-Tech platform in China. By leveraging its sophisticated machine learning models and data analytics capabilities, Qifu Technology provides a comprehensive suite of technology services to assist financial institutions and consumers and SMEs in the loan lifecycle, ranging from borrower acquisition, preliminary credit assessment, fund matching and post-facilitation services.Qifu Technology has an impressive long-term historical earnings growth rate of 39.1%. QFIN currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.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.For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2436865/4-best-value-stocks-with-low-peg-to-boost-your-portfolio-returnsDisclosure: 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.About Screen of the WeekZacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.Strong Stocks that Should Be in the NewsMany are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.Follow us on Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/zacksresearchJoin us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearchZacks 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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS): Free Stock Analysis Report Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS): Free Stock Analysis Report JD.com, Inc. (JD): 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