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Are Investors Undervaluing Earthstone Energy (ESTE) 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Earthstone Energy . ESTE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 4.49 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 8.40. ESTE's Forward P/E has been as high as 5.04 and as low as 1.51, with a median of 2.73, all within the past year.

Investors should also recognize that ESTE has a P/B ratio of 1.07. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. ESTE's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.42. ESTE's P/B has been as high as 1.19 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.84, over the past year.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. ESTE has a P/S ratio of 1.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.73.

Finally, investors should note that ESTE has a P/CF ratio of 2.30. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 4.44. Over the past 52 weeks, ESTE's P/CF has been as high as 4 and as low as 1.39, with a median of 1.93.

Geopark (GPRK - Free Report) may be another strong Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States stock to add to your shortlist. GPRK is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Furthermore, Geopark holds a P/B ratio of 3.91 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 2.42. GPRK's P/B has been as high as 39.25, as low as 3.60, with a median of 5.41 over the past 12 months.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Earthstone Energy and Geopark strong Value grade, but they help show that the stocks are likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, ESTE and GPRK look like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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