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Should You Invest in the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP)?
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Looking for broad exposure to the Energy - Exploration segment of the equity market? You should consider the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on June 19, 2006.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Energy - Exploration is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 12, placing it in bottom 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $3.29 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Energy - Exploration segment of the equity market. 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.
Costs
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.97%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector -- about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Venture Global Inc Cl A (VG) accounts for about 3.98% of total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) and Texas Pacific Land Corp (TPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 29.85% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF return is roughly 32.97% so far, and is up about 39.58% over the last 12 months (as of 03/16/2026). XOP has traded between $101.91 and $167.89 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.72 and standard deviation of 27.46% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 53 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. XOP, then, is not the best option for investors seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.
iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index and the Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF (PBOG) tracks BITA GLOBAL OIL & GAS SELECT INDEX. iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $569.24 million in assets, Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF has $619.97 million. IEO has an expense ratio of 0.38%, and PBOG charges 0.13%.
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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Should You Invest in the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP)?
Looking for broad exposure to the Energy - Exploration segment of the equity market? You should consider the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on June 19, 2006.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Energy - Exploration is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 12, placing it in bottom 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $3.29 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Energy - Exploration segment of the equity market. 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.
Costs
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.97%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector -- about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Venture Global Inc Cl A (VG) accounts for about 3.98% of total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) and Texas Pacific Land Corp (TPL).The top 10 holdings account for about 29.85% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF return is roughly 32.97% so far, and is up about 39.58% over the last 12 months (as of 03/16/2026). XOP has traded between $101.91 and $167.89 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.72 and standard deviation of 27.46% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 53 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. XOP, then, is not the best option for investors seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.
iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index and the Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF (PBOG) tracks BITA GLOBAL OIL & GAS SELECT INDEX. iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $569.24 million in assets, Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF has $619.97 million. IEO has an expense ratio of 0.38%, and PBOG charges 0.13%.
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.