PEGY Ratio

The basic metrics that all indicators descend from are for each bar the Open, High, Low, Close and Volume where the Close is often noted as Price. Then the Price/Earnings ratio entered trading. Price/Earnings is often noted as P/E ratio or PE.

The first major formalisation and widespread use of the P/E ratio came in 1934, when Benjamin Graham and David Dodd introduced it in their landmark book "Security Analysis". Their work established the P/E ratio as a core tool in fundamental analysis and value investing.

Graham’s influence was profound: he used the P/E ratio to help investors judge whether a stock was overpriced or underpriced, and his teachings shaped generations of value investors, including Warren Buffett.

The P/E ratio evolved into modern variants like forward P/E and Shiller CAPE.

There’s no single P/E cutoff that definitively marks a “growth” or “income” stock, but investors commonly treat P/E below about 10–15 as value/income oriented and P/E above about 20–25 as growth oriented. It is important to watch the P/E trend. If the P/E is a low value and reducing in value, then the company may be failing, and it is not good to invest in.

P/E is a relative signal, not an absolute rule. A high P/E usually means the market expects above average future earnings growth; a low P/E often signals lower growth expectations, higher current yield, or elevated risk. Benchmarks vary by sector and cycle: what’s “high” for utilities is low for software. Historical market averages (e.g., S&P 500) help frame whether a multiple is elevated or depressed.

The next step was the PEG ratio which was first introduced in 1969 by Mario Farina, who described it in his book "A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Investing in the Stock Market".
The concept later gained widespread popularity thanks to Peter Lynch, who championed it in his 1989 bestseller "One Up on Wall Street", arguing that a “fairly priced” company tends to have a PEG of about 1. Over 1 is overpriced and below is a bargain.

Later the PEGY ratio, a variation of the PEG ratio that added dividend yield into the valuation came into prominence so that mature, dividend paying companies are treated “fairly” . The PEGY ratio emerged in the 1990s as analysts and portfolio managers began adapting the PEG ratio for dividend paying companies. The concept is a natural extension of Peter Lynch’s PEG logic: If growth matters, and dividends matter, combine them into one valuation metric.

PEGY (Price/Earnings Growth% and Dividend Yield) is a straightforward modification of the PEG ratio that adds dividend yield to the growth term so that mature, dividend paying companies aren’t penalized by low growth rates alone. The formula is typically written as:
PEGY=(Price/Earnings)/(Earnings growth %+Dividend yield%)

Peter Lynch (One Up on Wall Street, 1989) is the most cited printed source that describes a dividend adjusted PEG concept and applies it as a practical screening rule for investors. PEGY is in Chapter “Some Fabulous Numbers”.

If earnings are negative, then the PEGY ratio will be negative, and it is best to invest in companies that make money. That is, positive PEGY ratio.

The PEGY ratio can have different ratios depending upon whether historical data is used (Mario Farina preference) or whether forward looking earnings (Peter Lynch preference) is used in the calculations.

Enough for the history lesson. You can quickly go through your watchlist and determine which stocks have a PEGY Ratio from 0 to 1 and eliminate the others. Then whittle down that list to find stocks travelling from bottom left to upper right on the page. Use any other indicators on that reduced list that your tradng plan uses and there you have your list of stocks in which to invest.