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Are Investors Undervaluing These Oils-Energy Stocks Right Now?

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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.

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.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company to watch right now is Laredo Petroleum . LPI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 2.70. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.51. Over the last 12 months, LPI's Forward P/E has been as high as 8.50 and as low as 1.73, with a median of 2.73.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. LPI has a P/S ratio of 1.07. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.6.

Another great Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States stock you could consider is W&T Offshore (WTI - Free Report) , which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

W&T Offshore sports a P/B ratio of -2.08 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.42. In the past 52 weeks, WTI's P/B has been as high as -1.48, as low as -3.39, with a median of -2.05.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Laredo Petroleum and W&T Offshore strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, LPI and WTI look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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