Finding stock-market bargains has always been tough, but the gap between value and growth is now so wide that value shares reportedly may be poised for liftoff.

Barron’s screened for stocks in the S&P 500 based on trailing price-to-earnings, price-to-book, sales growth, and return on equity, a measure of quality. 

Barron's did the work so you can avoid value traps and stick with higher-quality names. A value stock is commonly defined as a stock that trades at a lower price relative to its fundamentals, such as dividends, earnings, or sales, making it appealing to value investors, Investopedia explains.

"Stocks with low valuations aren’t hard to find, but avoiding value traps is tricky. Airlines, banks, and energy stocks look cheap because earnings are expected to fall sharply this year and recover well below rates of high-growth sectors like tech," Barron's explained.

Growth beat value in the first half by a wider margin than the entire year of 1999, just before the tech bubble burst, according to BofA Securities.

"BofA’s quantitative team recently offered up several reasons for value to mount a comeback. Value stocks led the market’s recovery phase in all of the last 14 recessions. Value also led in every profit recovery from trough to peak. Value stocks trade at record levels of cheapness relative to the momentum factor, while growth factors trade near record premiums," Barron's said.

That’s why Barron’s screened for stocks in the S&P 500 based on trailing price-to-earnings, price-to-book, sales growth, and return on equity, a measure of quality.

Once the numbers were crunched, Barron’s narrowed its list to these stocks:

1. NetApp (NTAP),
2. Marriott International (MAR),
3. Illinois Tool Works (ITW),
4. Rockwell Automation (ROK),
5. Avery Dennison (AVY),
6. Omnicom Group (OMC),
7. Nike (NKE),
8. Nvidia (NVDA),
9. and NVR (NVR).

However, the overall market could be in for a rough ride, some experts warn.

Bank of America Corp.says the announcement of a COVID-19 vaccine would likely mark the “big top” for the rally in stocks and credit markets.

With a surge in risk assets having recently pushed the S&P 500 Index to a record high, confirmation of a breakthrough along with a major recovery in jobs are needed to put a cap on the rally, strategists led by Michael Hartnett say, Bloomberg reported. They point out that while the market consensus is bullish, cross-asset positioning remains neutral rather than “excessively” optimistic.

Writing in a note, the strategists also warn of the growing risk of a market correction and rising volatility as the U.S. election approaches, advising that investors hedge their exposure via high-yield and emerging-market bonds and income equities, such as utilities, real estate investment trusts and dividend exchange-traded funds.

The strategists forecast the S&P 500 will reach 3,630 prior to the U.S. vote -- about 5% higher than Thursday’s close.

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