Value and Growth Coexist in These Five Stocks
Posted: August 25, 2026
August 24, 2026 (Maple Hill Syndicate) – “There is no such thing as growth stocks and value stocks the way Wall Street portrays them, as opposing asset classes,” Warren Buffett has said.
Buffett is considered by many people the world’s greatest living investor, and as usual, he has a point. No growth investor wants to pay a super-high price. No value investor wants to buy a melting ice cube.
Each year I highlight a few stocks that I think have both growth and value characteristics.
For this purpose, I use simple definitions. A value stock is a stock whose price is no more than 15 times the company’s per-share profits. A growth stock is one whose profits have increased at a 15% annual pace or better in the past five years.
Here are five stocks that I believe can accurately be described as incorporating both growth and value.
Progressive
The home and car insurer Progressive Corp. (PGR) has increased its earnings at more than a 24% clip in the past five years, yet its stock sells for only 11 times earnings.
Progressive was early among insurers in using technology (“telematics”) to check (among other things) how often drivers brake suddenly, or accelerate rapidly. The company also has an edge, in my view, in its advertising, which is often wry, quirky and funny.
EOG Resources
A remnant of the Enron Corp. empire, EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) jumped ship two years before Enron went bankrupt amid an accounting scandal. Its initials originally stood for Enron Oil and Gas.
Despite its parentage, EOG has a good reputation for accurate and conservative accounting. It has increased its earnings more than 34% a year in the past five years. The stock sells for about 12 times earnings.
Axos Financial
Axos Financial Inc. (AX), based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a banking company that does business nationwide, entirely over the Internet. The stock has more than doubled in the past three years, but still sells for about 11 times earnings.
In June 2024, Hindenburg Research, a short-selling firm, charged that Axos has lax underwriting standards for loans, and is overly exposed to commercial real estate. Since then, the stock has risen, suggesting that investors don’t believe those charges.
The five-year earnings growth rate is a little over 19%. Only seven analysts follow Axos. Six of them recommend it.
Deckers
You may not know the name Deckers Outdoor Corp. (DECK) but you may be familiar with its two shoe brands, Ugg and Hoka. Shoes are an unglamorous business, and Deckers shares sell for 13 times earnings even though the five-year earnings growth rate is 28%.
Analysts are evenly split between “buy” and “hold” ratings, but the average analysts’ one-year price target is about 33% above current quotes. Profitability measures are well above those for most shoe makers.
Green Brick
Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn is the board chairman at Green Brick Partners Inc. (GRBK), a home builder. Like many home builders, it had a tough time in the past four quarters, with profits falling 15% on a 4% revenue decline.
However, it’s five-year profit growth rate is above 26%. And the stock is attractively priced at 11 times earnings. Unlike many of its competitors who seek to be “land light,” Green Brick often owns the lots on which it builds.
Performance
Over the years, I’ve written 19 previous columns on stocks that combine growth and value. The average 12-month gain on my selections have been 18.9%.
That beats the average return of 12.6% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index over the same periods.
Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn’t be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict the future.
In 19 tries, my picks in this series have been profitable 14 times and beaten the S&P 13 times.
My selections from last summer advanced 40.3%, outdistancing the S&P’s total return of 19.7%. Little Eaco Corp. (EACO), which distributes electronic components and fasteners, was the best gainer, up about 63%.
My only pick from a year ago that didn’t beat the index was Pulte Group Inc., a homebuilder, which returned about 17%. Diamondback Energy Inc. chipped in 42%, and Crocs Inc. 31%. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. was acquired by Angelini Pharma for a 49% gain.
Disclosure: I own Diamondback Energy Inc. for most of my clients and Progressive shares for some clients. I don’t, at present, own them personally.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. His firm or clients may own or trade the stocks discussed here. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.