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COP vs. WHD: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States sector have probably already heard of ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) and Cactus, Inc. (WHD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, ConocoPhillips has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Cactus, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that COP has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

COP currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.51, while WHD has a forward P/E of 18.04. We also note that COP has a PEG ratio of 1.28. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. WHD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.48.

Another notable valuation metric for COP is its P/B ratio of 2.48. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WHD has a P/B of 3.04.

These metrics, and several others, help COP earn a Value grade of B, while WHD has been given a Value grade of C.

COP is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that COP is likely the superior value option right now.

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