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Is SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) debuted on 06/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $2.24 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index represents the oil and gas exploration and production sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the US common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Oil & Gas Exploration Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.32%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
XOP's heaviest allocation is in the Energy sector, which is about 98.40% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Antero Resources Corp (AR - Free Report) accounts for about 3.32% of total assets, followed by Eqt Corp (EQT - Free Report) and Texas Pacific Land Corp (TPL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 30.15% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 5.72% so far this year and is up about 3.68% in the last one year (as of 02/20/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $125.50 and $160.59.
XOP has a beta of 1.67 and standard deviation of 32.18% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 56 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF (PXE - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF has $100.83 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $606.54 million. PXE has an expense ratio of 0.63% and IEO charges 0.40%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Energy ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) debuted on 06/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $2.24 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index represents the oil and gas exploration and production sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the US common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Oil & Gas Exploration Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.32%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
XOP's heaviest allocation is in the Energy sector, which is about 98.40% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Antero Resources Corp (AR - Free Report) accounts for about 3.32% of total assets, followed by Eqt Corp (EQT - Free Report) and Texas Pacific Land Corp (TPL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 30.15% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 5.72% so far this year and is up about 3.68% in the last one year (as of 02/20/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $125.50 and $160.59.
XOP has a beta of 1.67 and standard deviation of 32.18% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 56 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF (PXE - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF has $100.83 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $606.54 million. PXE has an expense ratio of 0.63% and IEO charges 0.40%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Energy ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.