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COP vs. WHD: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States stocks are likely familiar with ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) and Cactus, Inc. (WHD - 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

ConocoPhillips and Cactus, Inc. are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that COP is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

COP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.01, while WHD has a forward P/E of 19.62. We also note that COP has a PEG ratio of 1.45. 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. WHD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.

Another notable valuation metric for COP is its P/B ratio of 2.68. 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. By comparison, WHD has a P/B of 3.31.

Based on these metrics and many more, COP holds a Value grade of B, while WHD has a Value grade of C.

COP sticks out from WHD in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that COP is the better option right now.

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