So I've been thinking about this lately - with the market hitting new highs on AI hype, a lot of people are getting caught up chasing tech stocks at crazy valuations. But there's actually a smarter way to play this if you want the best value stocks now without the FOMO.

The Fed's about to cut rates, earnings growth is solid, and honestly the market could use a healthy pullback after the massive run-up. If you're looking to stay invested but don't want to overpay for the next hot tech name, value investing is where it's at right now.

I've been looking at how professional screeners actually find the best value stocks now. The methodology is pretty straightforward - you're looking for stocks with strong fundamentals but trading below what they should be worth. The key criteria are simple: stocks with top-tier analyst ratings, P/E ratios below their industry median, and most importantly, earnings growth that's actually accelerating.

That's the sweet spot. You want cheap valuations combined with improving earnings outlooks. That's how you find real winners instead of value traps.

One stock that caught my eye fitting this profile is Ranger Energy Services (RNGR). This company operates in oil and gas field services - think high-spec mobile rigs and wireline services. Now before you tune out on energy, hear me out. RNGR has absolutely crushed it over five years, up 420% while the broader oil and gas services sector only gained 120%. The S&P 500 did 99% in that same period.

What's interesting is the stock is trying to break out above its post-IPO highs from 2017. We saw it test those levels briefly in late 2024 and early 2025. The earnings momentum is the real story here though.

Zacks has this ranked as a Strong Buy because the earnings outlook just surged. RNGR is projected to grow adjusted earnings per share by 53% this year and another 11% next year. That's serious growth. Meanwhile the valuation is still reasonable - trading at 10.6X forward earnings, which is 25% below its industry average and 18% below the broader oil and gas sector. Plus it pays a dividend.

This is exactly the type of best value stocks now that actually has improving fundamentals behind it. Not just cheap for the sake of being cheap. The company is trading roughly 50% below its own highs, which suggests there's room to run if the energy thesis plays out.

The broader point is that when you're screening for best value stocks now, you need that combination of valuation discipline and earnings acceleration. That's what separates the real opportunities from the value traps that just keep getting cheaper because something's actually wrong with them.

If you want to dig deeper into finding these kinds of setups, the screening methodology is actually pretty accessible these days. Look for strong analyst ratings, below-median valuations on both earnings and sales metrics, and most critically, positive earnings revision trends. That's your formula for finding actual value in a market that's gotten pretty frothy in pockets.