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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) was launched on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $3.93 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index.
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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for XOP are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.79%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
XOP's heaviest allocation is in the Energy sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC) accounts for about 3.03% of the fund's total assets, followed by Pbf Energy Inc Class A (PBF) and Valero Energy Corp (VLO).
XOP's top 10 holdings account for about 28.46% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XOP return is roughly 39.68%, and is up about 36.91% in the last one year (as of 11/10/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $123.96 and $204.86.
The ETF has a beta of 0.59 and standard deviation of 28.08% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 54 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF (PBOG) tracks BITA GLOBAL OIL & GAS SELECT INDEX and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF has $476.26 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $824.87 million. PBOG has an expense ratio of 0.13% and IEO changes 0.37%.
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) was launched on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Energy ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $3.93 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Energy ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index.
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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for XOP are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.79%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
XOP's heaviest allocation is in the Energy sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC) accounts for about 3.03% of the fund's total assets, followed by Pbf Energy Inc Class A (PBF) and Valero Energy Corp (VLO).
XOP's top 10 holdings account for about 28.46% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XOP return is roughly 39.68%, and is up about 36.91% in the last one year (as of 11/10/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $123.96 and $204.86.
The ETF has a beta of 0.59 and standard deviation of 28.08% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 54 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Energy ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF (PBOG) tracks BITA GLOBAL OIL & GAS SELECT INDEX and the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exp and Prod Index ETF has $476.26 million in assets, iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has $824.87 million. PBOG has an expense ratio of 0.13% and IEO changes 0.37%.
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.