At 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 — Suzano S.A. (SUZ Quick QuoteSUZ - Free Report) , Marathon Petroleum (MPC Quick QuoteMPC - Free Report) , Micron Technology (MU Quick QuoteMU - Free Report) and Itron (ITRI Quick QuoteITRI - Free Report) .

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 stock would 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 Glance

The PEG ratio is defined as (Price/ Earnings)/Earnings Growth Rate

A 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 some of the screening criteria for a winning strategy:

PEG Ratio less than X Industry Median

P/E Ratio (using F1) less than X Industry Median (for more accurate valuation purposes)

Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) (Whether good market conditions or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 have a proven history of success.)

Market Capitalization greater than $1 billion (This helps us to focus on companies that have strong liquidity.)

Average 20-Day Volume greater than 50,000 (A substantial trading volume ensures that the stock is easily tradable.)

Percentage Change F1 Earnings Estimate Revisions (4 Weeks) greater than 5% (Upward estimate revisions add to the optimism, suggesting further bullishness.)

Value Score of less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Style Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 (Hold) offer the best upside potential. 

Our PEG-Driven Picks

Here are four stocks that qualified the screening:

Suzano: Headquartered in Salvador, Brazil, Suzano manufactures and sells pulp, paper, tissue, paperboard and cellulose-based products worldwide through its Cellulose and Paper segments. Its operations also span biofuels, renewable energy, biotechnology, forestry, logistics, and research into sustainable materials, including cellulose-based fibers and textile applications.

Suzano currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. SUZ also has an impressive five-year expected growth rate of 44.1%.

Marathon Petroleum: Findlay, OH-based Marathon Petroleum is a leading U.S. refiner, transporter and marketer of petroleum products, operating through Refining and Marketing, Midstream, and Renewable Diesel segments. Its extensive refining footprint, integrated logistics network, advantaged crude access and higher-value product investments support margin optimization, strong cash generation, improving capital returns and shareholder distributions.

MPC currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of B. Marathon Petroleum also has an impressive five-year expected growth rate of 59.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Micron: Headquartered in Idaho, this is a global provider of semiconductor memory and storage solutions, including DRAM, NAND and NOR flash, serving computing, mobile, automotive, industrial and data center markets. Its technology roadmap, strategic customer agreements and strong cash generation support capacity expansion and shareholder returns, while growing data center, edge AI and physical AI applications offer long-term opportunities.

Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, MU currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of B. Micron has a long-term historical growth rate of 66%.

Itron: Headquartered in Liberty Lake, WA, Itron provides smart meters, communication networks, software, data analytics and services to utilities and municipalities through Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, Outcomes and Resiliency Solutions. Improved operating efficiency, favorable product mix, stronger margins, pipeline growth and contracted deployments support its outlook, while competitive pressures, debt and uneven revenue growth remain concerns despite raised 2026 earnings guidance.

ITRI has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. Itron also has an impressive five-year historical growth rate of 24.9%.