Zacks.com featured highlights include Pilgrim's Pride, Exelixis, Synchrony and United Airlines

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – February 7, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are — Pilgrim's Pride PPC, Exelixis EXEL, Synchrony Financial SYF and United Airlines UAL.4 PEG-Based GARP Stocks to Stay Ahead in Uncertain MarketsThe equity market in 2025 so far has been characterized by heightened volatility, primarily driven by escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed trade conflicts. Trump's aggressive tariff policies have triggered retaliatory actions from major economies like China and, most recently, the European Union. This resulted in increased uncertainty, disrupting supply chains and dampening investor confidence.Adding to the instability, the Federal Reserve's recent decision to maintain interest rates at current levels has further unsettled markets. Many investors had anticipated a rate cut to offset economic pressure stemming from trade disruptions and geopolitical risks.In such a situation, investments always need to be prudently hedged in order to 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, 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 four such stocks. These are Pilgrim's Pride, Exelixis, Synchrony Financial and United Airlines.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 in calculating 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 four out of the 10 stocks that qualified the screening:Pilgrim's Pride: This Greeley, CO-based company is engaged in the processing, production, marketing and distribution of frozen, fresh as well as value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride has been driving growth through strategic portfolio diversification, focusing on branded offerings and key customer partnerships. This approach helps the company refine its product mix and gain competitive advantages.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 48.2%.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Exelixis: Alameda, CA-based Exelixis is an oncology-focused biotechnology company that primarily focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of new drugs for the treatment of difficult-to-treat cancers. Exelixis’ lead drug, Cabometyx, continues to be the leading tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.The stock can also be an impressive investment pick with its Zacks Rank #2 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 27.4%.Synchrony Financial: As one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies, Synchrony Financial offers a wide range of credit products through a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and health and wellness providers.Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock has a Value Score of A and holds a Zacks Rank #2. The stock also has a 12.8% earnings growth rate for the next five years.United Airlines: Based in Chicago, this is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines. United Airlines transports people and cargo not only throughout North America but also to destinations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.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 11.7%.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/2411310/4-peg-based-garp-stocks-to-stay-ahead-in-uncertain-markets?art_rec=quote-stock_overview-zacks_news-ID02-txt-2411310Zacks 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.Free Today: Profiting from The Future’s Brightest Energy SourceThe demand for electricity is growing exponentially. At the same time, we’re working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. Nuclear energy is an ideal replacement.Leaders from the US and 21 other countries recently committed to TRIPLING the world’s nuclear energy capacities. This aggressive transition could mean tremendous profits for nuclear-related stocks – and investors who get in on the action early enough.Our urgent report, Atomic Opportunity: Nuclear Energy's Comeback, explores the key players and technologies driving this opportunity, including 3 standout stocks poised to benefit the most.Download Atomic Opportunity: Nuclear Energy's Comeback free today.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 United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL): Free Stock Analysis Report Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC): Free Stock Analysis Report Synchrony Financial (SYF): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks