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Is State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) made its debut on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $1.82 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. XOP is managed by State Street Investment Management. XOP 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 U.S. 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
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for XOP are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
XOP's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.62%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 99.3% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector.
Looking at individual holdings, Cnx Resources Corp (CNX) accounts for about 3.51% of total assets, followed by Expand Energy Corp (EXE) and Murphy Oil Corp (MUR).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 30.04% of XOP's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 0% so far this year and is down about -2.12% in the last one year (as of 01/01/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $101.91 and $145.88
The fund has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 27.80% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XOP a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 55 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF (PXE) tracks Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF has $75.61 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $419.71 million. PXE has an expense ratio of 0.61% and IEO changes 0.38%.
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 State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) made its debut on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $1.82 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. XOP is managed by State Street Investment Management. XOP 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 U.S. 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
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for XOP are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
XOP's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 2.62%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 99.3% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector.
Looking at individual holdings, Cnx Resources Corp (CNX) accounts for about 3.51% of total assets, followed by Expand Energy Corp (EXE) and Murphy Oil Corp (MUR).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 30.04% of XOP's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 0% so far this year and is down about -2.12% in the last one year (as of 01/01/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $101.91 and $145.88
The fund has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 27.80% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XOP a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 55 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF (PXE) tracks Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Invesco Energy Exploration & Production ETF has $75.61 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $419.71 million. PXE has an expense ratio of 0.61% and IEO changes 0.38%.
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.