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E vs. XOM: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International sector have probably already heard of Eni SpA (E - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil (XOM - 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.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Eni SpA has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Exxon Mobil has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that E likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than XOM has recently. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

E currently has a forward P/E ratio of 7.32, while XOM has a forward P/E of 13.52. We also note that E has a PEG ratio of 1.22. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. XOM currently has a PEG ratio of 4.51.

Another notable valuation metric for E is its P/B ratio of 0.89. 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, XOM has a P/B of 1.62.

These metrics, and several others, help E earn a Value grade of A, while XOM has been given a Value grade of C.

E has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than XOM, so it seems like value investors will conclude that E is the superior option right now.


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