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PDCE vs. RRC: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States sector have probably already heard of PDC Energy and Range Resources (RRC - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, both PDC Energy and Range Resources are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

PDCE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.17, while RRC has a forward P/E of 459.67. We also note that PDCE has a PEG ratio of 0.37. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. RRC currently has a PEG ratio of 159.05.

Another notable valuation metric for PDCE is its P/B ratio of 0.47. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, RRC has a P/B of 0.86.

These metrics, and several others, help PDCE earn a Value grade of A, while RRC has been given a Value grade of D.

Both PDCE and RRC are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that PDCE is the superior value option right now.


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