Artificial intelligence stocks tanked on Tuesday, driven by a wave of selling across AI chips. The drop extends a healthy downturn off the late-June records after a historic rally left the AI end of the stock market looking a bit frothy.
Investors likely want to remain exposed to the market heading into August, given the broadly bullish earnings growth picture that extends well beyond the AI-boosted technology sector.
Investors looking to avoid overheated stocks might consider buying best-in-class value stocks.
Today, we dive into how investors can find highly ranked—Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy)—value stocks to buy heading into August and throughout the rest of 2026.
Screen Basics: Finding the Best Value Stocks to Buy
The screen we are digging into today comes loaded with the Research Wizard and aims to sort through highly-ranked Zacks stocks to find some of the top value names.
This value-focused screen searches only for stocks that boast Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buys) or #2 (Buys). It also focuses on stocks with price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios under the median for its industry. The screen also looks for stocks with price-to-sales (P/S) ratios under the median for its industry to help lock in relative value compared to its peers, since basing it off the wider market is not always the most useful tool.
The screen then digs into quarterly earnings rates above the median for its industry. This particular Zacks screen also uses a special blend of upgrades and estimates revisions to select the best seven stocks in this list.
The screen basics are listed below…
· Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) Stocks
· P/E (using 12-month EPS) - Under the Median for its Industry
· P/S - Under the Median for its Industry
· Percentage Change Act. EPS Q(0)/Q(-1)
· Rating Change and Revisions Factors (to help narrow the list to the 7 best stocks in this list)
This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and it is called bt_sow_value_method1. It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.
The screen is simple, yet powerful. Here is one of the seven stocks that made it through this week's screen…
Best Stocks to Buy Now for Value, Dividends, and AI-Boosted Upside: BIP
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners BIP owns and operates a diversified portfolio of high-quality utilities, transport, midstream, and data assets. The Bermuda-based limited partnership is positioned to capitalize on U.S. and global megatrends, driven by the power-hungry AI data center boom, which is projected to boost U.S. electricity demand by 100% by 2050.
BIP boasts that it aims to offer “attractive risk adjusted total returns through strong cash flow generation and targeted annual distribution growth of 5% to 9%.”
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BIP’s dividend currently yields ~4.5%, topping its highly-ranked industry’s 4% average and nearly matching the 10-year U.S. Treasury’s 4.6%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners lands a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now, driven by its upward earnings revisions.
The megatrend-following owner of essential infrastructure assets is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 9% in 2026 and over 11% next year on 10% and 5%, respective revenue growth.
The stock jumped ~275% in the past 15 years, outpacing the Zacks Finance sector’s 200% and its industry’s 70%. BIP’s 32% YTD run has it on the verge of testing its 2022 peaks. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ average Zacks price target implies 14% upside from its current levels.
On the valuation front, BIP trades at a discount to its 15-year median, nearly 40% below its sector, and a 35% discount to its highs at 10.5X foward 12-month earnings.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Now might be a time for investors to buy Brookfield Infrastructure Partners stock before it reports its Q2 2026 earnings results on Thursday for a strong dividend, value, AI-boosted infrastructure upside, and more.
Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.
Want more articles from this author? Scroll up to the top of this article and click the FOLLOW AUTHOR button to get an email each time a new article is published.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: www.zacks.com/performance_disclosure
See Today's Picks from Zacks' Top Screens – Free
You're invited to access our collection of professional stock screens for free inside the Research Wizard.
These screens have crushed the market since 2000. For example, Small-Cap Growth averages +42.9% annual gains, Filtered Zacks Rank5 returns +45.4%, and Big Money Zacks generates +51.8%.
Try these screens for yourself with a FREE Research Wizard trial. Or create your own strategies to fit your unique trading style. No credit card needed, no cost or obligation.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.