Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are These Oils-Energy Stocks Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Transportadora De Gas Ord B (TGS - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. TGS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value.

We should also highlight that TGS has a P/B ratio of 0.64. 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 attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.58. Over the past year, TGS's P/B has been as high as 0.97 and as low as 0.57, with a median of 0.76.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. TGS has a P/S ratio of 0.91. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.43.

Finally, investors should note that TGS has a P/CF ratio of 3.72. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.95. Within the past 12 months, TGS's P/CF has been as high as 6.94 and as low as 2.92, with a median of 5.28.

Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP - Free Report) may be another strong Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines stock to add to your shortlist. UGP is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Ultrapar Participacoes is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 9.71 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.40. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 15.08 and average PEG ratio of 1.96.

Over the last 12 months, UGP's P/E has been as high as 17.77, as low as 8.54, with a median of 13.12, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.67, as low as 0.36, with a median of 0.50.

Ultrapar Participacoes also has a P/B ratio of 1.73 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 1.58. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.79, as low as 1.53, with a median of 2.23.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Transportadora De Gas Ord B and Ultrapar Participacoes strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, TGS and UGP look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (UGP) - free report >>

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B (TGS) - free report >>

Published in