7 Best Value Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2026

Finding the best value stocks to buy in this market is a delicate balancing act.

On the one hand, you typically need to think beyond the flashiest names in the stock market—wild growth stories are rarely underappreciated by Wall Street investors. But you also need to think past “cheap stocks,” too. For one, nominal price ($5 stocks, $1 stocks, penny stocks) isn’t an indication of value. But even “cheap” by actual valuation metrics isn’t helpful, either, if you’re just buying a discounted name with little else to love.

Value investing is a religion to many folks, the same way bargain hunting at flea markets or coupon clipping is to others. There’s a pride that value investors have about analyzing the true worth of a company, and they should. It’s a skill.

Today, we’ll talk a little about the basics of value stock investing. Then I’ll highlight some of the best value stocks for the rest of 2026, across several sectors, that exemplify this approach.

Editor’s Note: Tabular data presented in this article is up-to-date as of Sept. 8, 2026.

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Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized investment advice. Individual securities, funds, and/or other investments appear for your consideration and not as personalized investment recommendations. Act at your own discretion.

What Is a Value Stock?

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A value stock is a company that is perceived to be trading below some sort of intrinsic value. This is markedly different from many growth stocks, which typically trade at inflated market values based on investor interest or future growth potential.

Value stocks are often boring or steady names with established businesses, whereas a growth stock is likelier to be some flashy name with big ideas but no profits or tangible assets to speak of. Sure, flashy names are definitely interesting to watch. But they are simply not opportunities that most value stock investors would even consider, given their reliance on the promise of future growth rather than tangible value today.

So what’s the easiest way to separate a true value stock from overhyped pretenders? There’s no hard and fast rule, but there are a few metrics to watch, including:

• Price-to-earnings ratio: Stock prices should be based on something. One popular way is by normalizing the price per share by earnings per share to see how “cheap” or “expensive” the stock is vs. its peers. Price-to-earning (P/E) ratio can be backward-looking (usually the past 12 months’ worth of financials), though more useful is forward P/E, which looks ahead toward estimates for the coming year. For context, the average forward P/E of the S&P 500 lately is a little over 20.
• Price-to-sales ratio: Since profitability sometimes isn’t the best indicator, another point of reference worth considering is the market value of a stock when compared to its revenue. Value stocks typically trade for only about 2X their sales, while high-growth stocks can sometimes trade at price-to-sales (P/S) ratios of 10 or even 20. That’s a big risk if those sales don’t come in as expected.
• Dividend yield (and payout ratio): Value stocks often have tangible and consistent profits, and they frequently share those profits with investors. Thus, many value stocks are also dividend-paying stocks. But don’t just go chasing a high yield; some dividend stocks offer unsustainable payouts that are at risk of being cut down the road. Compare the annual dividends paid to the earnings per share to make sure the company in question isn’t overstretched. Generally, paying out 70% of profits via dividends leaves enough wiggle room, but a healthy payout ratio might differ from one industry to the next.
• A company’s stock price trend: Value stocks as a group are, over the long term, less volatile than growth stocks. Just understand that the broader environment or unexpected headlines can upset even the most stolid blue chip.

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Does a Low Stock Price Mean a Good Stock Value?

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Think about the difference between buying a hidden gem at a flea market vs. a piece of junk that’s better off in the trash. Both are “cheap,” but one is a value, while the other is more of a “value trap.”

You’ll find the same issue when hunting for values in the stock market.

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For instance, some stocks trade for very low price-to-earnings or price-to-sales ratio because Wall Street is expecting the actual numbers to come in much lower in the years ahead. If the experts are proven right, the stock isn’t a bargain at all. Rather, it has been discounted because it isn’t as valuable as it used to be.

Just as growth stocks can sometimes be valued based on their future operations instead of their current results, value stocks can also be valued based on their outlook—and if that outlook is grim, investors might not put much weight in current profits that are likely to vanish over the next year or two.

However, sometimes a bit of bad news results in a temporary short-term headwind, and value investors are often the first to swoop in for bargain purchases when that happens. Just be careful: It can be difficult to tell the difference between a stock that’s priced low for a reason, and a true bargain value investment.

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How Do Value Stocks Differ From Growth Stocks?

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Small biotech companies researching a potential cancer cure or tech startups developing a potential artificial intelligence (AI) gamechanger could become billion-dollar giants … or they might disappear overnight if their plans don’t pan out.

These are fundamentally “growth stocks” that are dependent on revenue and earnings growth that will justify their share price. Just think about a company like Tesla (TSLA) that debuted on Wall Street in 2010 even though it was unprofitable and had only manufactured less than 2,000 cars before going public and had a mere 4,000 additional pre-orders on the books. It was a risky bet to be sure, but now Tesla is the envy of the entire EV industry and cranks out millions of cars—and has made early investors a bundle along the way.

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Value stocks can make a bundle for investors, too, but in a very different way. They’re more likely to be companies such as traditional automakers with deep pockets and tons of hard assets like production facilities. Sure, it might be impossible for an automaker like Toyota (TM) to double, considering it is already the world’s No. 1 automaker with about $300 billion in revenue and nearly 11 million vehicles sold annually. But growth isn’t the appeal here … rather, the underlying value and established operations of Volkswagen is the draw.

Lastly, value stocks and growth stocks don’t always have to be opposites. From time to time, Wall Street will underestimate a high-growth firm, and as a result, you’ll have a growth stock trading at value prices.

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The Top Value Picks to Buy Now

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Today, I’ll look at some of the best value stocks to buy as rated by consensus analyst ratings from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The consensus rating is the average of all known analyst ratings of the stock, boiled down to a numerical system where …

1-1.5 = Strong Buy
1.5-2.5 = Buy
2.5-3.5 = Hold
3.5-4.5 = Sell
4.5-5 = Strong Sell

In short: The lower the number, the better the overall consensus view on the stock. All stocks here are rated at least 2.0 or below, meaning at worst they’re solidly in the Buy camp, though most of the picks are considered Strong Buys as we enter 2026. And the stocks are listed in reverse order of their consensus rating (from worst to best).

All stocks also have forward P/Es that are below both the S&P 500 and their sectors, as well as PEGs below 1.0.

As iconic investor Warren Buffett once wrote, “In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” The following seven stocks are good examples of value stocks with real weight.

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7. Citizens Financial Group

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• Sector: Financials
• Market capitalization: $29.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 2.6%
• Forward P/E: 11.9
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.61 (Buy)

Citizens Financial Group (CFG) is the holding company behind Citizens Bank, a large regional bank with roughly 1,000 branches serving 14 East Coast and Midwest states as well as Washington, D.C. It provides a wide variety of consumer and commercial banking services, including deposits, mortgages, credit cards, business loans, wealth management, foreign exchange, corporate finance, and more.

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One noteworthy area of growth for CFG is Citizens Private Bank, which offers personal banking, wealth management, and other services to people with at least $10 million in net worth and at least $5 million in liquid assets. Since launching near the end of 2023, Private Bank has accumulated $17.8 billion in deposits, $9.7 billion in loans, and $11.2 billion in client assets.

“Positive policies around deregulation, looser capital requirements, and more stress test transparency stand to benefit CFG,” says Argus’s Heal, who rates Citizens’ shares at Buy. “Management has remained confident that Private Bank will deliver 20% to 25% return on equity for FY26. Additionally, the bank continues to show strong performance in the New York metro region.”

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“A third consecutive quarter of positive [earnings per share] revisions underscores our confidence in the time-based and methodical [return on tangible common equity] improvement narrative that underpins our constructive thesis,” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts, who rate the stock at Outperform, said after the company’s most recent earnings report. “CFG remains among our top ideas among Super Regional banks, with a time-based and methodical ROTCE improvement story that is built on strengthening growth, business model diversification (Private Bank), and positive operating leverage.”

All told, CFG has a broad bull camp of 15 Buys versus three Holds and no Sells. Part of the appeal is a cheap forward P/E below 12 that compares well to the financial sector’s 15, as well as a very low PEG of just 0.51 currently.

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6. Bank of America

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• Sector: Financials
• Market capitalization: $438.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 2.0%
• Forward P/E: 12.6
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.54 (Buy)

Bank of America (BAC) is one of the world’s largest banks, serving roughly 70 million Americans through 3,800 branches and 15,000 ATMs across 39 states. However, BofA is much, much more than its consumer business—it also provides financial products and services for small and midsized businesses, large corporations, institutional investors, and even governments. Its offerings range from checking and savings accounts to commercial loans, trade finance, treasury management, and securities clearing.

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BofA was caught up in financials’ broader slump across the first half of 2026. But despite recovering to double-digit year-to-date gains, BAC stock is still entrenched in value territory. Its forward P/E of less than 13 is cheaper than the broader market, and decently inexpensive compared to the financial sector. A PEG of 0.81 shows that it’s a little undervalued in relation to its projected growth.

Part of banks’ pain in 2026 has come from worries about artificial intelligence taking over their business models. But Wall Street remains plenty bullish on the space, and on BAC in particular.

“We do not see AI tools as an existential threat, rather we see them as a tool to enable improving profitability,” say Morgan Stanley analysts. “We expect operational efficiency to improve across our coverages as banks utilize AI tools to ramp throughput. Across our large cap banks, we expect AI tools will help drive a productivity gains of 20-50% across a wide range of functions including financial advisors, wholesale banking and markets teams and operational staff.”

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As for BofA specifically? Morgan Stanley’s Betsy L. Graseck rates BofA at Overweight (equivalent of Buy) and calls the stock her “top pick” in 2026, adding that “BAC’s investments in AI are already delivering efficiencies.” She’s one of 20 Buy-equivalent calls on the stock, which compares well to just four Holds and zero Sells.

More recently, BAC is coming off a solid second-quarter earnings release in which the company reported stronger fee income and muted expenses. “The second-quarter print reaffirms our prior view that BAC’s NIM remains among the more defensible in the group, supported by fixed-rate asset repricing tailwinds and strong deposit franchise, evidenced by a 1-basis-point decline in total deposit costs,” says Citi analyst Benjamin Gerlinger, who also rates the stock at Buy.

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5. Nucor

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• Sector: Materials
• Market capitalization: $58.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.9%
• Forward P/E: 12.0
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.53 (Buy)

Nucor (NUE) is North America’s largest steel manufacturer and recycler. It produces a wide variety of products, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; bar steel products; and steel joists and joist girders, among other products. It also has a raw materials segment that produces direct reduced iron, processes scrap metal, and even engages in natural gas production.

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It’s among the top-rated value stocks to buy right now, too. Its forward P/E of 12 is about a third that of the broader materials sector (18), and it has a dirt-cheap PEG of 0.39. Meanwhile, NUE shares enjoy 14 Buys versus just three Holds and no Sells.

“We view Nucor as a well-run company with a strong record in its industry, and poised to take advantage of megatrends (such as the rebuilding of U.S. infrastructure, the transition to alternative energy sources, and manufacturing onshoring),” says Argus Research’s Alexandra Yates (Buy). “Although NUE’s earnings were hurt recently by reduced demand and inflationary pressures, conditions are improving. The balance sheet is clean, and management has experience navigating difficult conditions. With Nucor’s diverse portfolio and commitment to investing in higher-margin businesses, we see potential for share-price gains.”

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Nucor is a highly cyclical stock whose fates are closely tethered to economic activity, both here and abroad. That’s typically not fertile breeding ground for dividend stability, but NUE is an exception to the rule. This company has delivered 53 years of dividend growth, which not only is good enough to merit a spot among the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (S&P 500 companies that have raised their dividends without interruption for at least 25 consecutive years), but it puts it among the even more elite Dividend Kings (50-plus years).

No. 53 came in December 2025, when the company raised its payout by 1.8%, to 56¢ per share.

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4. United Airlines

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• Sector: Industrials
• Market capitalization: $35.5 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Forward P/E: 8.5
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.36 (Strong Buy)

Airlines in general are strongly tethered to consumer demand and economic strength, both of which are extremely difficult to handicap under the current policy environment.

Heading into this year, the airline industry in general was expected to benefit from (among other things) low supply growth as well as easy comparisons to 2025, when extreme macroeconomic volatility rocked the industry. So if the economy did pick up, and especially if the current administration did go through with any of its proposed stimulus measures, those could be considered additional tailwinds for airlines. But of course, America’s war with Iran muddied the picture by triggering multiple spikes in fuel costs, creating economic uncertainty, and raising the prospects of diminished travel appetite.

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The actual situation has been mixed. Demand for air travel has indeed been robust despite higher fares to cover costlier fuel. But stocks like United Airlines (UAL)—the largest airline in the world by revenue passenger miles, flying 175 million people to more than 350 destinations on six continents—have still whipsawed amid ebbing and flowing worries about whether higher fuel costs will finally weigh on demand.

For now, United trades at just 8 times earnings (less than half the industrial sector’s 23 forward P/E) and a PEG of just under 0.5. And yet, analysts remain extremely positive on the stock, at 23 Buys versus one Hold and one Sell. 

One reason for optimism has nothing to do with the geopolitical picture:

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“Similar to the addition of Basic Economy fares in the main cabin from U.S. legacy carriers in the 2010s, Basic options joining the premium fare umbrella are designed to incentivize buy-up behavior and drive higher average yields,” say Jefferies analysts Sheila Kahyaoglu and Jack Ewell, who rate the stock at Buy. “Both DAL and UAL have been offering their own versions of standard and extra fare options in premium cabins, with Basic now joining as a third option.

“On a like-for-like basis, we expect Basic fares to be priced modestly beneath the legacy standard option, allowing DAL/UAL to raise pricing on the new standard/extra options vs. legacy pricing, resulting in the overall premium cabin fare umbrella moving higher.”

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3. Smurfit Westrock

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• Sector: Consumer discretionary
• Market capitalization: $23.5 billion
• Dividend yield: 3.9%
• Forward P/E: 16.0
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.29 (Strong Buy)

One of the best value stocks to buy in 2026 also happens to be on our list of the best growth stocks right now.

Smurfit Westrock (SW)—the product of a 2024 merger of Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa and America’s Westrock—is a global manufacturer of consumer packaging, corrugated packaging, and a variety of paper products. And by virtue of that merger, the combined entity is now one of the largest packaging providers in the world, with operations in 40 countries.

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Consider Smurfit Westrock an interesting beneficiary of technological trends—specifically, the continued rise of e-commerce. As people increasingly move away from buying in brick-and-mortar stores and toward online shopping … well, those products have to get shipped in something, and that’s precisely where Smurfit comes in.

“[We estimate] that the industry will remain strong, and we see modest expansion at a compound annual growth rate of 3%-4% through 2028,” writes Argus Research analyst Alexandra Yates, who rates SW shares at Buy. “We favor companies with pulp, paperboard packaging, and corrugated product lines, and expect this segment to show continued long-term growth through 2030.

“We see long-term upside potential and expect earnings growth congruent with growth in e-commerce and growth in demand for sustainable paper and packaging goods. We think that current valuation multiples are attractive given the company’s recovering earnings outlook through FY26.”

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SW has picked up quite a few covering analysts of late, and they’re unanimously bullish, with all 17 calling the stock a Buy. Truist’s Michael Roxland is also among those Buys, citing numerous drivers, including an “improving containerboard cycle, which we believe is entering a ‘golden age’ driven by balanced supply and demand.” The consensus expectation is for Smurfit to grow its earnings at a healthy 31% annual clip on average.

But Smurfit’s stock also has bargain-priced value metrics; its forward P/E of 16, while more expensive than some of the other value stocks on this list, is still much cheaper than the consumer discretionary’s 23. It’s also inexpensive based on its high expected growth, boating a PEG of just 0.51.

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2. Darling Ingredients

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• Sector: Consumer staples
• Market capitalization: $10.5 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Forward P/E: 10.6
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.25 (Strong Buy)

Darling Ingredients (DAR) is a global producer and seller of sustainable natural ingredients, which it creates from edible and inedible bio-nutrients. It operates in three segments: Food, Feed, and Fuel.

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Readers with more sensitive stomachs might want to skip a paragraph.

The Food segment turns beef and pork bone chips, beef hides, and pig and fish skins into collagen; processes intestines into natural casings, refines animal fat into food-grade fat, and more. The Feed segment creates non-food-grade oils and protein meals, cookie meal used in poultry and swine food, even blood plasma powder and hemoglobin. And its fuels division turns organic sludge and food waste into biogas, converts certain animal byproducts into low-grade energy sources, and more.

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BMO Capital Markets’ Andrew Strelzik (Outperform) calls DAR “one of our favorite investment ideas.” He said he believes the company is “in the early innings of capitalizing on inflection in fundamentals,” and he said the “balance sheet is deleveraging faster than expected, moving DAR closer to potential cash return to shareholder announcement (DAR repurchased $73 million during quarter)” after the company’s recent earnings report, which was better than the Street expected.

Strelzik is one of 11 Buy calls on DAR shares, contested by one Hold and no Sells. Those ratings are driven by wild annual earnings-growth estimates of nearly 150% on average, as well as thin valuations for that growth: a forward P/E around 11 that’s about half the consumer staples sector, and a PEG just below 0.1.

That puts it among Wall Street’s best value stocks, and a true, ahem, darling of the Wall Street analyst set.

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1. Churchill Downs

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• Sector: Consumer discretionary
• Market capitalization: $6.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.5%
• Forward P/E: 12.2
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.25 (Strong Buy)

Churchill Downs (CHDN) operates live and historical racing entertainment venues, online gambling businesses, and regional casino gaming properties in the United States.

Its racing operations include live and historical parimutuel (all bets are combined in a pool) racing-related activities at Churchill Downs Racetrack, as well as historical racing properties in Kentucky, Virginia, and New Hampshire. It also provides racing event-related services, including admissions, personal seat licenses, sponsorships, television rights, and other miscellaneous services, as well as food and beverages services. Its businesses also include casino and racetrack operations, as well as horse racing wagering for TwinSpires.com, BetAmerica.com, and other white-label platforms. 

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Churchill Downs struggled across the first few months of the year, but it never rebounded alongside the rest of the market. Among other things, the company in July released an 8-K outlining potential sale options for its wholly owned regional gaming assets. The news overshadowed decent earnings and kept the stock pinned to the ground.

“We take the opposite view, and believe management is being disciplined with separate buyers determined the optimal structure to maximize all-in proceeds after running initial price discovery,” say Stifel analysts, who rate the stock at Buy. “Aside from the Gaming update, CHDN 1) reiterated confidence in Derby momentum, 2) updated on Virginia Department of Human Resource Management development optionality, and 3) expanded on new Churchill Downs Racetrack projects and more cautious ‘test, then build’ approach to infield expansion.

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“Bottom line, we view today’s sell-off as a buying opportunity with risk/reward around potential Gaming sum-of-the-parts value unlock highly compelling.”

Stifel isn’t alone. CHDN stock is a unanimous Buy among its 12 covering analysts. That’s helped by a cheap forward P/E of 12 and 0.82 PEG. That puts Churchill Downs not only among Wall Street’s best value stocks right now, but also among its best rebound stocks for the second half of the year.

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Should I Buy Value Stocks or a Value Exchange-Traded Fund?

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Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, provide a diversified way to play the stock market in one single holding. And perhaps unsurprisingly, there are a host of ETFs that seek to provide groups of value stocks in one place.

Diversification is definitely something to consider, but also keep in mind that it’s difficult to apply the same screening methodology on an ETF that you do on individual stocks. So if you care about popping the hood and looking around for yourself, investing in individual stocks might be preferable—even if it’s a bit more work.

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Related: 5 Best Stock Recommendation Services [Stock Picking + Tips]

Stock recommendation services are popular shortcuts that help millions of investors make educated decisions without having to spend hours of time doing research. But just like, say, a driving shortcut, the quality of stock recommendations can vary widely—and who you’re willing to listen to largely boils down to track record and trust.

The natural question, then, is “Which services are worth a shot?” We explore some of the best (and best-known) stock recommendation services.

Related: 10 Dividend Stocks That Pay Us Each and Every Month

The vast majority of American dividend stocks pay regular, reliable payouts—and they do so at a more frequent clip (quarterly) than dividend stocks in most other countries (typically every six months or year).

Still, if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “it’d sure be nice to collect these dividends more often,” you don’t have to look far. While they’re not terribly common, American exchanges boast dozens of monthly dividend stocks.

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