3 Value-Priced Picks the Pros Love Now

Warren Buffett said it best: “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”

If you buy a stock that's priced at a low nominal dollar amount, or you buy a stock that has declined significantly in a short period of time, you're certainly buying cheap. But you still might not be getting value. That's because, in value investing, what ultimately matters is whether the stock is underpriced in relation to how the company's operations have performed and/or are expected to perform.

That's also why value investing is so difficult: because you're ultimately looking for good companies that are trading for less than they're worth. And certainly in the internet age, good companies don't remain a secret forever.

Today, we're going to try to help you with this delicate balancing act by pointing you toward some of the best value stocks you can buy right now. Each of these stocks is highly rated by the professional analyst community, but each is also trading at prices that indicate investors don't fully appreciate the potential.

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.

The Best Value Stocks to Buy Now

We have a fuller list of value stocks to buy now, but here, I'll cover three of the top names 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).

Each stock listed here also has a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio that is below both the S&P 500 and its sector, as well as a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio below 1.0.

1. Bank of America

• Sector: Financials
• Market capitalization: $372.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 2.1%
• Forward P/E: 11.7
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.48 (Strong 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 has been caught up in financials' broad slump in 2026, which has put the stock further into value territory. BAC's forward P/E of less than 12 is much cheaper than the broader market, and decently inexpensive compared to the financial sector (15). A PEG of 0.8 shows that it's only slightly undervalued in relation to its projected growth, but it looks better relative to the S&P 500, which trades at a PEG of 1.1 right now.

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."

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 22 Buy-equivalent calls on the stock, which compares well to just three Holds and zero Sells.

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"Investor Day goals outlined for the company at large over the medium term included deposit growth of 4%, loan growth of 5%, operating leverage of 200-300 basis points leading to an efficiency ratio of 55%-59%, EPS growth of at least 12%, and a return on tangible common equity of 15% in the near term and 16%-18% in the medium term," adds Argus Research analyst Stephen Biggar, who also rates the stock at Buy and recently upgraded his price target (to $62) on the back of management's raised guidance for net interest income growth. "We believe the targets are achievable given the company’s breadth of products and investment capabilities, and are competitive enough to push BAC into the upper range on these metrics in the peer group."

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2. CVS Health

• Sector: Healthcare
• Market capitalization: $105.7 billion
• Dividend yield: 3.2%
• Forward P/E: 11.5
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.44 (Strong Buy)

CVS Health (CVS) is positioned in numerous businesses throughout the healthcare sector. It has an enormous retail pharmacy footprint of more than 9,000 retail pharmacy locations, which include both standalone buildings and its store-within-store presence across numerous Target (TGT) locations. But CVS also has more than 1,000 "Minute Clinics" (essentially doctor's offices right within the store), the Caremark pharmacy benefits management (PBM) business, as well as its Aetna arm courtesy of a $69 billion deal to lock up the health insurer back in 2018.

The company's shares surged 80% in 2025. That sounds impressive, but it deserves some context. That rebound effectively put the stock back to where it was trading at the beginning of a disastrous 2024 for CVS. And that's a microcosm of its volatile but ultimately unproductive movement of the past decade; indeed, anyone holding the stock over the past 10 years is still sitting on a mere single-digit percentage gain even with dividends included. The S&P 500 has returned 315%.

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But Wall Street—which is looking forward, not backward—is overwhelmingly optimistic about the stock. Currently, 24 pros call it a Buy, while only three call it a Hold and no one believes it's a Sell.

Truist Managing Director David S. MacDonald calls the stock a Buy and his "preferred" pick in diversified managed care, citing the company's "diversified, scaled and complementary growth platforms with broad and unique capabilities well positioned to create a more interconnected and cohesive patient experience which we expect to drive ongoing expansion of the company's ability to capture additional healthcare spend."

Despite last year's roaring comeback for CVS shares, as well as additional positive ground in 2026, the stock still trades at less than 12 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months. Its PEG is also in deep bargain territory at a little more than 0.2.

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3. United Airlines

• Sector: Industrials
• Market capitalization: $29.3 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Forward P/E: 10.2
• Consensus analyst rating: 1.35 (Strong Buy)

United Airlines (UAL) is the largest airline in the world by revenue passenger miles, flying 175 million people to more than 350 destinations on six continents.

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.

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However, UAL has lost 20% year-to-date, joining the rest of the industry in plunging amid rocketing oil prices following the start of America's war with Iran. Here's what BofA Global Research analysts Andrew Didora and John Gellene have to say about the scenario:

"We are lowering our EPS estimates given jet fuel nearly doubled in March. This is no surprise given the current environment, and we see two scenarios emerging from the current situation: 1) fuel stays higher for longer which results in airlines with negative or low margins either shrinking meaningfully or considering alternatives or 2) a quicker than expected end to the conflict drives a robust earnings recovery. We assume the industry benefitting from the second scenario and airlines with good margins and strong balance sheets emerging stronger from the first scenario."

They think United is one of those companies, and 23 other analysts join them in positive sentiment toward UAL, while only two call it a Hold and no one says it's a Sell.

Spirit Airlines (FLYYQ) hasn't been so lucky; the company recently ceased operations after its financial collapse, and its future remains uncertain. But United management mentioned that even if the government somehow props up Spirit, the impact on its business will be minimal.

Also worth noting is that United CEO Scott Kirby recently affirmed that he had approached American Airlines (AAL) about potentially merging the carriers, though AAL wasn't interested. Wedbush analyst Michael Piccolo writes that "Kirby's decision to go public with a detailed pro merger manifesto reads as a deliberate move to plant a seed with regulators and policymakers for a future attempt, potentially under different AAL leadership or if AAL's financial position deteriorates further. ... If AAL's stock continues to decline and operating headwinds intensify, the calculus around a 'willing partner' could shift."

On the valuation front, UAL is plenty cheap. The company trades for just 10 times earnings estimates and boasts a PEG around 0.6.

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