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Is Shell Oil (RDS.A) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is Shell Oil . RDS.A is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.83, while its industry has an average P/E of 11.72. Over the last 12 months, RDS.A's Forward P/E has been as high as 47.92 and as low as 8.44, with a median of 13.63.

We should also highlight that RDS.A has a P/B ratio of 0.95. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.09. Over the past 12 months, RDS.A's P/B has been as high as 1.09 and as low as 0.56, with a median of 0.88.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. RDS.A has a P/S ratio of 0.89. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.93.

Finally, our model also underscores that RDS.A has a P/CF ratio of 4.49. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 6.40. Over the past 52 weeks, RDS.A's P/CF has been as high as 5.61 and as low as 2.50, with a median of 4.02.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Shell Oil is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, RDS.A sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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