June 26 (Reuters) - Value stocks offer some of the most

compelling valuations in the U.S. equity market after badly

lagging their growth-focused counterparts this year, Bank of

America Global Research equity and quant strategist Savita

Subramanian said on Wednesday.

"These companies are neglected and trading at very low

multiples" at present, but offer opportunities to purchase

high-quality stocks at a discount, Subramanian told attendees at

Morningstar's annual investment conference.

In a keynote speech, she said that within what she views as

a generally favorable market and economic environment for

stocks, large-cap value is the segment "where I have the most

conviction."

Value stocks - typically shares of companies that are

comparatively inexpensive on metrics such as book value or

price-to-earnings - have languished this year in a market that

has been led by searing rallies in big tech names such as Nvidia ( NVDA )

. The S&P 500 value index is up around 4.5%

year-to-date, compared with a more than 23.5% rise in the S&P

500 growth index.

Subramanian argues the underperformance of value stocks has

made them more attractively priced compared with their growth

peers. The S&P 500 growth index trades at 28.3 times forward

earnings, while the S&P 500 value index has a forward P/E of

15.8, according to LSEG Datastream.

Among the sectors liked by Subramanian are energy, where she

says companies have become more disciplined regarding output

despite higher commodity prices.

Subrmamanian also believes the dividend payouts offered by

value stocks - which are typically higher than those offered by

growth stocks - will make them attractive to investors. She

anticipates sizable growth in dividend payout rates over the

coming decade.