Stocks to buy

The 3 Best Value Stocks to Buy Now: September 2023

Investors may want to pay close attention to some of the best value stocks on the market. Many can help minimize risk and allow investors to hold onto potential winners longer without too much exposure to downside risk. Additionally, getting a good stock at a discount (because the market hasn’t priced in its real value) can lead to sizable profits. In fact, here are three of the best value stocks you may want to consider today.

Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)

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Vipshop Holdings (NYSE:VIPS) is an online discount holding company for retail brands in China, which offers products to Chinese consumers through its vip.com website. It also  provides diversified products with over 17,000 international and domestic apparel for men, women, and children. VIPS also carries other fashion, lifestyle, and home goods through its subsidiary site lefeng.com. The company has carved its position in the e-commerce market as the go-to site for top-tier brands at a discount.

Earnings have also been solid. Its current EPS for the quarter beat expectations by 27.50%. Revenue came in at $3.84 billion, 4.12% lower than the previous quarter. However, lower spending increased net income growth by 6.87% quarter over quarter (QoQ). These numbers show how the company’s efforts to maintain profitability are paying off. Vipshop also announced a 9.6% increase in active customers for 2Q2023, hitting 45.7 million users (up from 41.7 million last year.) No wonder analysts see it as one of the best-value stocks worthy of a strong buy recommendation.

Perdoceo Education (PRDO)

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Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) is an educational service provider that offers postsecondary education through its academic institutions. These can be delivered online or campus-based blended academic programs. In addition, PRDO owns the American InterContinental University System (AIUS) and Colorado Technical University (CTU), which offer associate and non-degree professional programs. Better, the company recently acquired Coding Dojo, a tech-focused learning provider, for $52.8 million.

PRDO has continuously outperformed analyst expectations with its quarterly earnings. For example, the last quarterly EPS beat forecasts by 17.31%. Revenue also increased by 11.26% based on the same quarter last year, further cementing its growth story. In addition, analysts highly recommend PRDO with a strong buy rating and set the target price at $21.00, a potential upside of almost 20%. This continued momentum and attractive upside make PRDO one of our value stocks.

Encore Wire (WIRE)

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Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) is a Texas-headquartered cable and electrical wire manufacturer that offers electrical building copper wire products for residential, industrial, commercial, and renewable energy sectors. While the business may not sound as exciting as artificial intelligence or machine-learning firms, the nature of its business makes it one of the best value plays in the market. The company’s core product is essential to many infrastructure businesses like telecommunications, healthcare, and housing — industries that can heavily influence the economy.

WIRE’s most recent earnings report indicates that revenue and net income dropped by 3.64% and 12.34%, respectively, from the previous quarter. However, the company said this is mainly because the price of wire per copper pound dropped by 18.5% in the first two quarters of 2023. Encore notes that demand for their products is strong, and the company is in the ninth quarter of consecutive elevated margins. In addition, the company has also been granted four patents in June of this year. Despite the earnings drop, increasing copper wire demand and the company’s future-facing initiatives make it one of the value stocks worth checking out today.

On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Rick Orford is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, investor, influencer, and mentor. His work has appeared in the most authoritative publications, including Good Morning America, Washington Post, Yahoo Finance, MSN, Business Insider, NBC, FOX, CBS, and ABC News.