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Should Value Investors Buy Eni (E) Stock?

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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Eni (E - Free Report) . E is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 10.33, which compares to its industry's average of 10.47. E's Forward P/E has been as high as 10.97 and as low as 6.79, with a median of 8.05, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that E has a P/B ratio of 0.97. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.17. E's P/B has been as high as 1.00 and as low as 0.70, with a median of 0.85, over the past year.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. E has a P/S ratio of 1.01. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.02.

Finally, investors should note that E has a P/CF ratio of 4.96. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 9.11. Over the past 52 weeks, E's P/CF has been as high as 5.13 and as low as 3.64, with a median of 4.30.

Investors could also keep in mind Repsol (REPYY - Free Report) , another Oil and Gas - Integrated - International stock with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Repsol is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 5.56 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 4.83. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 10.47 and average PEG ratio of 0.69.

REPYY's Forward P/E has been as high as 6.17 and as low as 4.00, with a median of 5.01. During the same time period, its PEG ratio has been as high as 5.37, as low as 1.21, with a median of 4.31.

Repsol also has a P/B ratio of 0.66 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 2.17. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 0.68, as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.50.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Eni and Repsol are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, E and REPYY feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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