9 Best Value Stocks to Buy Now

Published January 31, 2022 at 12:31 pm EST Updated September 7, 2026 at 1:57 pm EDT

In this article, we discuss the 9 best value stocks to buy now according to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors based on Q3 holdings of the fund.

Vinit Bodas graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a master’s degree in business administration. Deccan Value Advisors went out of business in 2009 when one of its co-founders opted to quit. Vinit Bodas created Deccan Value Investors in February 2010, and it maintained the same approach as the first Deccan fund. Presently, he is the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Deccan Value Investors.

Deccan Value Investors is a hedge fund established in Greenwich. The hedge fund employs a long-biased strategic approach, focusing on stocks, securities, and instruments convertible into equities, as well as other derivatives with a comparable level of risk. At its peak, the fund had more than a billion dollars in assets under management, focusing on a small number of stocks.

Traditional value investors invest in stocks with high book value to market value ratios. We believe this approach is outdated as several high growth stocks trading at relatively low PE ratios should also be considered by “value investors”. Vinit Bodas’ value approach is similar to ours as you can see from some of the fund’s holdings below. Mr. Bodas’ hedge fund, Deccan Value Investors, operates nine private funds and manages over $2.53 billion in 13F assets in the third quarter of 2021.

Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors has shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) as of the third quarter of 2021.

Source: pexels

Alphabet Inc. is one of the companies in Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors portfolio. Alphabet Inc. announced in January that it would launch a restricted test of an app that would bring Android games to Windows PCs, with the test going to take place in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Deccan Value Investors also has a $343.13 million stake in Microsoft Corporation. In January, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised his price target on Microsoft Corporation to $372 from $364 and kept an “Overweight” rating on the shares.

salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) is another large cap stock in Deccan Value Investors’ portfolio. In January, Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick lowered his price target on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) to $300 from $360 and reiterated a “Buy” rating on the shares. He recommends a more balanced strategy for the group with greater value awareness than prior years.

Our Methodology

With this economic outlook in mind, let’s start our list of the top 9 stocks to buy now according to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors. We picked these stocks from the Q3 portfolio of Bodas’ hedge fund.

Best Value Stocks to Buy Now According to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors

9. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $158,726,000

Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 6.27%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is a multi-level marketing company that creates and distributes dietary supplements worldwide. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. reported $1.4 billion in net sales in the third quarter of 2021, a 6% reduction from the third quarter of 2020 and in line with the forecast.

Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors first bought a stake in Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. in the first quarter of 2015. The hedge fund also strengthened its position in Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. in the third quarter of 2021, by buying 780,218 additional shares. This makes their stake in the company total 3.75 million shares worth $158.73 million.

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. recently saw a decrease in hedge fund sentiment. Long hedge fund positions fell to 38 at the end of the third quarter, down from 40 at the end of the previous quarter.

Just like Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. is one of the best value stocks to buy according to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors.

In its third-quarter 2021 investor letter, Bronte Capital, an investment management firm, discussed its stance on Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.. Here is what the fund said:

“Herbalife is – as we have discussed many times before – a multi-level marketing scheme selling weight-loss shakes. The idea is simple. If I replaced six meals a week with low-calorie protein shakes and I walked an extra 15km a week I would quickly lose 15-20kgs. It would be good for me. It is also well-nigh impossible to do.

One solution is to hire a personal trainer (usually of the opposite sex) and have them nag you. You will do tough stuff for an attractive member of the opposite sex. More realistically you could just have your friends nag you. And that is why this works so well as a multi-level marketing scheme. The person who sells you the shakes has an incentive to keep you on the diet.

We have looked at many distributors and we see a weight-loss program – implemented for (literally) millions of people – which works about as well as any weight-loss health program that ever existed. That still means it fails most of the time – but it works enough that we can be proud of owning this stock and the health benefits it provides. Herbalife, it turns out, grew well during COVID. This was initially a surprise to us – as we thought Herbalife depended on the personal touch to make the sale. But, instead, weight loss and associated social clubs moved online – and – in many cases were the main social outlet the customers had.”

8. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $186,461,000

Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 7.37%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 248

Meta Platforms, Inc. is an international technology company. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) announced 1.93 billion daily active users in the third quarter, compared to 1.92 billion expectations.

Based on tests that suggest a solid ad expenditure growth in Q4, boosted by high seasonal demand, OTR Global altered its outlook on Meta Platforms, Inc. from “Mixed” to “Positive” in January.

According to our database, the number of Meta Platforms, Inc.’s long hedge funds positions decreased at the end of the third quarter of 2021. As a result, there were 248 hedge funds that hold a position in Meta Platforms, Inc. compared to 266 funds in the preceding quarter.

In its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter, Wedgewood Partners mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, detracted from performance. Meta’s core Facebook properties reported an impressive +35% revenue growth, an acceleration over last year’s +22% revenue growth, as small businesses continued to flock to the Company’s advertising platform. However, the Company’s forward-looking guidance came in below what many investors were expecting because changes to Apple’s mobile operating system (iOS) privacy policies made it more difficult for advertisers and Facebook to track the performance of ad spend. Facebook has anticipated Apple’s changes for some time; however the rollout of alternative performance tracking will take time for advertisers to implement. Longer-term, we think Facebook’s core properties represent a compelling value proposition for most small advertisers because the Company has billions of daily users that flock to it. Although Meta’s spending on noncore projects related to what it defines as the “metaverse” has driven expense growth higher, we consider it not too out of line compared to the spending of most large technology companies that often just refer to it as “research and development.” Meta trades at an attractive multiple and with an unmatched competitive positioning in social media advertising, so we added to our position during the quarter.”

7. Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $227,952,000

Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 9.01%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25

WWD ranks 7th on our list of the best value stocks to buy now. Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) is a company that sells control system components and solutions to the aerospace and industrial sectors. As part of comprehensive research on crucial Aerospace and Defense stocks, Truist analyst Michael Ciarmoli raised Woodward, Inc. to “Buy” from “Hold” with a price target of $143, up from $110, in January.

Vinit Bodas holds 2.01 million shares of Woodward, Inc., valued about $227.95 million, putting him at the top of Insider Monkey’s list of over 867 hedge funds. Next on the list is Eagle Capital Management, which owns 1.92 million shares of the company, worth over $217.43 million.

Woodward, Inc. was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021. In addition, there were 22 hedge funds in our database with Woodward, Inc. holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

6. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $241,113,000

Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 9.53%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is an American telecommunications and media business. Even after selling 7,600 shares of Charter Communications, Inc. stock in the third quarter, Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors still holds 331,400 shares of Charter Communications, Inc., worth about $241.11 million.

In January, RBC Capital analyst Kutgun Maral upgraded Charter Communications, Inc. to “Outperform” from “Sector Perform” with a price target of $690, down from $770. According to the analyst, the unfavorable opinion on Wall Street has made the competitive risks for cable providers in broadband extremely difficult.

Overall, 74 hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey were bullish on Charter Communications, Inc. in the third quarter. The stakes of these funds are valued at $18.79 billion.

Along with Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), Charter Communications, Inc. is one of the best value stocks to buy according to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors.

ClearBridge Investments, in its first-quarter 2021 investor letter, mentioned Charter Communications, Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“The portfolio’s quality bias and valuation discipline have generated compelling returns over time with typically strong relative results in more challenging environments as it did through the first three quarters of 2020. However, that same quality bias tends to create a more challenging relative performance environment for the Strategy during periods of sharp economic acceleration, which tend to benefit stocks that are more commodity linked or of lower quality. This has been the case during the vaccine- and stimulus-driven rally experienced late last year and during the most recent quarter. Sectors that lagged in the quarter included communication services, where Charter trailed after generating robust returns earlier in the recovery.”

5. TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $266,156,000
Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 10.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) is a publicly listed aerospace manufacturing firm in Cleveland, Ohio. As part of comprehensive research on key Aerospace and Defense names, Truist analyst Michael Ciarmoli upgraded TransDigm Group Incorporated to “Buy” from “Hold” with a price objective of $786, up from $600, in January.

For the fiscal third quarter of 2021, TransDigm Group Incorporated reported an EPS of $4.25, beating estimates by $0.55. On the other side, the company’s sales for the quarter was $1.28 billion, which was $40 million below market expectations.

TransDigm Group Incorporated is also getting the attention of the smart money, as 63 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, up from 57 funds a quarter earlier.

Vulcan Value Partners, an investment management firm, in its second-quarter 2021 investor letter mentioned TransDigm Group Incorporated. Here is what the fund said:

“TransDigm Group Inc., another material contributor during the quarter, is an aerospace manufacturer providing highly engineered, niche components for use on commercial and military aircraft. The vast majority of the company’s profits come from aftermarket sales. Its business was impacted by the global pandemic; however, the company has been able to maintain margins despite strong revenue headwinds, and it continues to generate strong free cash flow.”

4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $343,125,000
Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 13.57%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 250

Microsoft Corporation is a software and hardware company that creates, manufactures, and distributes personal computers, computer software, related services, and consumer electronics. Deccan Value Investors started investing in Microsoft Corporation during the second quarter of 2011. In Q3 2021, the hedge fund reduced its stake in the company by 3%, representing 13.57% of its 13F portfolio.

In the third quarter, hedge fund sentiment increased for Microsoft Corporation. Insider Monkey’s data shows that 250 elite hedge funds held stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, up from 238 funds a quarter earlier.

In its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter, Claret Asset Management mentioned Microsoft Corporation. Here is what the fund said:

“Our biggest undertaking in 2021 was a conversion of our technology platform from a local area network within our office to having our proprietary network all in the “cloud.” We have chosen Microsoft and their Azure system as our partner, as we feel they are the best positioned to service our network, which includes Microsoft 365 Office, their data facilities all in Quebec and Ontario and as they learn the products in depth, we feel they are best able to defend each endpoint against any cyber attacks that may create havoc for us and for our clients. We want to protect your privacy and ours, and off er you a seamless and confi dential information environment. Additionally, the IT engineering fi rm we use to ensure 24/7 coverage of our system and the operation of the equipment to optimize our service levels and the integrity of our reporting and data protection. In 2021, we completed our client reporting migration to Croesus and we now have client portals for each client and relationship – if you haven’t signed in yet, please do so as all your documents and quarterly reports can be made available for you to view at your convenience in the “privacy” of your own personal devices whether desktop or mobile. You are able to store these documents in a secure environment, eliminating the need to keep “paper” copies if you prefer.”

3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $355,899,000
Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 14.07%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156

Alphabet Inc. rebranded from Google in 2015, is a high-tech corporation. Alphabet Inc.’s biggest investor is Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners. It has a $294.85 million stake in the firm through owning 101,896 shares.

In a research note, BofA analyst Justin Post reminds investors that Google’s new projects like Performance Max can continue to deliver robust search revenue growth. As a result, Justin Post boosted his price objective on Alphabet from $3,210 to $3,470 in January and maintained a “Buy” recommendation on the stock.

Hedge funds are loading up on Alphabet Inc., as Insider Monkey’s data shows that 156 hedge funds held a stake in the company as of the end of the third quarter, compared to 155 funds in the previous quarter.

Oakmark Funds, in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter mentioned Alphabet Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“For Alphabet, we add back its research spending on Waymo and “other bets” and add an asset for the value of those money-losing ventures. We also value cash separate from the business because if you valued cash at a normal P/E today, you’d be valuing it at pennies on the dollar. When we make our adjustments to Alphabet’s financials, we own its wonderful search business at less than the S&P multiple, which we consider to be a bargain.”

2. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $372,439,000
Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 14.73%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 119

salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a cloud computing startup that sells customer relationship management (CRM) software to organizations. In the third quarter, Vinit Bodas decreased his stake in salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3%, and his 14.73% stake in the company is now worth about $372.44 million.

As per Insider Monkey’s Q3 data, 119 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), up from 108 in the preceding quarter. The consolidated value of these stakes is over $14.90 billion, up from $11.77 billion in Q2.

In its third-quarter 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments mentioned salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM). Here is what the fund said:

“On an individual stock basis, leading contributors to absolute returns in the third quarter included positions in Salesforce.com. Meanwhile, with a new CFO focused on delivering consistent growth and expanding margins, Salesforce could soon surpass SAP as the world’s largest enterprise applications provider with an all-subscription-based model. The recent acquisition of Slack should better connect the company’s products and services with its users as the messaging platform becomes more dynamic and interactive.”

1. Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS)

Deccan Value Investors Stake Value: $375,880,000
Percentage of Deccan Value Investors’ 13F Portfolio: 14.87%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46

Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS) is an American firm that designs, manufactures, and sells escalators, elevators, moving walkways, and other related products. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Nicolai Tangen’s Ako Capital is a leading shareholder in Otis Worldwide Corporation with 4.80 million shares worth more than $394.57 million.

In October, Wells Fargo analyst Joseph O’Dea initiated coverage of Otis Worldwide Corporation with an “Underweight” rating and gave a price target of $72, citing his stance as a value call with flexibility on China real estate market uncertainty.

Overall, hedge funds are loading up on Otis Worldwide Corporation, as 46 out of the 867 funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in the company, compared to 45 funds a quarter earlier.

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