The investment pattern of the current generation is gradually tending toward hybrid investment from pure-play theories like growth or value. According to them, to make a long-term investment more effective, the principles of both value and growth strategies need to be combined.

Accordingly, GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investment, often known as a special case of value investment, is gaining popularity. What GARPers look for is whether the stocks are somewhat undervalued and have solid sustainable growth potential (Investopedia).

And here lies the importance of a not-so-popular fundamental metric, the price/earnings growth (PEG) ratio. Although it is categorized under value investing, this strategy follows the principles of both growth and value investing.

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

It relates the stocks P/E ratio with future earnings growth rate.

While P/E alone only gives an idea of stocks that are trading at a discount, PEG while adding the growth element to it, helps stocks that have solid future potential.

A lower PEG ratio, preferably less than 1, is always better for GARP investors.

Say for example, if a stock's P/E ratio is 10 and expected long-term growth rate is 15%, the company's PEG will come down to 0.66, a ratio that indicates both undervaluation and future growth potential.

Unfortunately, this ratio is often neglected due to investors' limitation to calculate the future earnings growth rate of a stock.

There are some drawbacks to using the PEG ratio though. 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 in 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 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 purpose)

Zacks Rank of 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. 

Here are five stocks that qualified the screening:

Gray Television  (GTN - Free Report) is a television broadcast company that owns and operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. The stock can be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #2 and Value Score of A. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock also has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 10%.

Syneos Health (SYNH - Free Report) is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The stock can also be an impressive value investment pick with its Zacks Rank #2 and Value Score of B. Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock also has an impressive long-term expected growth rate of 17.5%.

Dollar General (DG - Free Report) is a discount retailer that provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, Midwestern, and eastern United States. The company has an impressive long-term growth rate of 13.6%. The stock currently has a Value Score of B and a Zacks Rank #2.

Sabre (SABR - Free Report) provides technology solutions to the travel and tourism industry worldwide. Sabre's software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network, and crew management.  Apart from a discounted PEG and P/E, the stock has a Value Score of B and holds a Zacks Rank #2.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL - Free Report) is a leading real estate investment manager with approximately $60 billion of private and public equity and private debt investments under management (as of Q3 2018). The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Value Score of A.