3 Dirt Cheap Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

By James Brumley – Feb 16, 2026 at 12:15PM ESTKey PointsSprouts Farmers Market aims to succeed by addressing consumers' desires for healthier food.Progressive is faring far better than the market’s giving the insurer credit for these days.Despite PayPal’s recent plunge, it may now be seeing the bottom of a long-lived pullback.These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NYSE: PGRProgressiveMarket Cap$120BToday's Changeangle-down(-0.55%) $1.13Current Price$204.32Price as of February 13, 2026 at 3:58 PM ETNot all cheap stocks are necessarily worth buying. In the case of these three stocks, however, their relatively low price bolsters their already-bullish arguments.Investors have been forced to get comfortable with richly priced stocks of late. After all, they're the only ones that have been performing well. If you're willing to do a little digging though, you'll find a handful of names worth owning that have actually fallen back to dirt-cheap valuations. Here's a closer look at three of these best bets in the market today. Image source: Getty Images.

Sprouts Farmers Market It's been a wild ride for Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM +2.00%) since 2024. The stock soared that year thanks to the health-minded grocery chain's growth. Since peaking in the middle of last year, SFM stock has tumbled more than 60%, reaching a two-year low just this month. The sellers, however, have arguably overshot their target. The stock is now priced at less-than 12 times this year's very plausible, projected per-share profit of $5.74, up from 2025's likely full-year comparison of $5.27. The stock's also currently trading 60% below analysts' current consensus price target of $108.73. ExpandNASDAQ: SFMSprouts Farmers MarketToday's Change(2.00%) $1.35Current Price$68.98Key Data PointsMarket Cap$6.7BDay's Range$67.37 - $69.6452wk Range$64.75 - $182.00Volume100KAvg Vol2.5MGross Margin37.15% The crux of the bullish argument here, of course, is the growth of its core business. While consumers tend to talk about eating healthier more than they actually do it (recent Pew Research says cost and taste are still the most important factors), industry research outfit Technavio predicts the health and wellness food business is poised to grow by nearly 10% per year through 2029. Progressive The insurance business can be a tricky one for insurers to navigate. Reimbursements are practically impossible to predict with any precision from one year to the next, while competitive and regulatory factors are forever changing. That's one of the big reasons shares of insurer Progressive (PGR 0.55%) have struggled for nearly a year now -- its revenue growth seems to be slowing. ExpandNYSE: PGRProgressiveToday's Change(-0.55%) $-1.13Current Price$204.32Key Data PointsMarket Cap$120BDay's Range$202.17 - $208.5352wk Range$197.92 - $292.99Volume106KAvg Vol3.5MDividend Yield6.80% As was the case with Sprouts, the bears may have overshot their target and done so for a misunderstood reason. You can step into this name at less-than 13 times the coming year's projected earnings. Perhaps just as compelling, you can step into it while the stock's forward-looking dividend yield stands at just under 6.7%. And the misunderstanding? While this company's rate of revenue growth may be slowing, on a whole-dollar basis, it's making as much (no word play intended) progress as it ever has. PGR data by YCharts. It's also worth adding that while the insurance business can be volatile from one year to the next, for multi-year time frames, it tends to do reliably well. These companies' actuaries have gotten very, very good at the industry's mathematics. PayPal Lastly, while there's no denying PayPal's (PYPL +3.11%) growth is slowing down as the well-matured digital payment space becomes even more crowded with new competition, the market seems to be pricing in an outright collapse that just isn't in the cards. As of the latest look, PayPal stock is valued at less-than eight times this year's expected profits of $5.34 per share. Do keep your expectations in check. Again, the digital wallet space has become fiercely competitive. Single-digit revenue growth is the new norm here. ExpandNASDAQ: PYPLPayPalToday's Change(3.11%) $1.22Current Price$40.30Key Data PointsMarket Cap$37BDay's Range$39.12 - $40.3752wk Range$38.46 - $79.50Volume778KAvg Vol20MGross Margin41.78%Dividend Yield0.35% Just respect the fact that the original powerhouse of this space still enjoys a commanding control of about 40% of the online payment market. Incoming CEO Enrique Lores -- currently CEO of HP -- will have a great foundation to start with when he takes the helm next month and brings some fresh ideas and perspective to the table. This may be exactly what PayPal's been needing for a while now.Read NextJan 16, 2026 •By Thomas NielShould You Buy This Stock After Its Recent Pullback?Jan 11, 2026 •By Daniel SparksDown 21% From All-Time Highs, Is Progressive Stock a Buy?Jan 8, 2026 •By James Brumley3 Top Dividend Stocks to Buy in JanuaryDec 19, 2025 •By Motley Fool YouTubeProgressive: A Strong Contender in the Insurance MarketNov 15, 2025 •By Courtney Carlsen3 Reasons to Buy Progressive Stock Before 2026Nov 15, 2025 •By Lawrence Rothman, CFAShould You Buy Progressive Stock Right Now?About the AuthorJames Brumley is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. James is a former licensed stockbroker with Charles Schwab, and a registered investment adviser. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in finance from Transylvania University.TMFjbrumleyX@jbrumleyStocks MentionedProgressiveNYSE: PGR$204.32 (0.55%) $1.13Sprouts Farmers MarketNASDAQ: SFM$68.98 (+2.00%) $+1.35PayPalNASDAQ: PYPL$40.30 (+3.11%) $+1.22*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.