Each month, we take a close look at an aspect of sector investing. This month, we are examining sector growth and valuation, which is often referred to as GARP investing (with GARP standing for Growth At A Reasonable Price). Investors hunting for GARP stocks that reasonably balance long-term growth prospects and current value characteristics might want to look at companies in the Financial, Materials, Energy, and Communication Services sectors. These are among the industry groups that are currently selling for PEGY (price/earnings)/(growth+yield) ratios at or below the S&P 500's ratio of 1.7. To generate the PEGY ratios, we use the P/E ratio for each sector based on forward earnings for the numerator. For the denominator, we average the growth rates for the past five years along with two years of forward estimates, this in order to achieve a less-volatile earnings growth rate trend. We then add the current yield to approximate total return. As an example, the current S&P 500 P/E ratio is 19, the current yield is 1.2%, and the historical growth rate is 10%. The formula is 19/(1.2+10.0) = 1.7. Based on our analysis of growth rates and valuations, along with other factors, we have established our current over-weight sectors as Information Technology, Financial, Industrial, and Materials. Our under-weight sectors are Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary. Our Market-Weight sectors are Communication Services, Healthcare, Energy, Utilities, and Real Estate.

Based in Salt Lake City, Zions provides a range of retail and commercial banking, residential mortgage lending, and asset management services. The company has approximately 9,400 employees and more than 400 branches in Utah, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California.

The major indices are mixed at midday, as an earlier rally has lost steam. There's another pause in fighting between Iran and the U.S. and the price of oil has dropped. But earnings continue to flow in, driving individual stocks, and traders are possibly treading water as they await the Fed rate decision later in the week. About one-third of S&P 500 companies report this week, so there are many headlines to consider. Crude oil is down 6% at $84 per barrel, while the yield on the 10-year note is at 4.66%.

Zions Bancorp is a US regional bank with around $90 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2026. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Zions’ branch network is in the Western and Southwestern United States and includes seven affiliate banks in these markets. The bank has a heavy focus on small and midsize commercial banking.