The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One stock to keep an eye on is Encore Capital Group (ECPG Quick QuoteECPG - Free Report) . ECPG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.46. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.40. Over the past 52 weeks, ECPG's Forward P/E has been as high as 9.37 and as low as 4.14, with a median of 5.49.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. ECPG has a P/S ratio of 0.96. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.43.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Encore Capital Group is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, ECPG feels like a great value stock at the moment.