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Is Murphy Oil (MUR) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

Murphy Oil (MUR - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MUR is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.64. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.13. MUR's Forward P/E has been as high as 2,202.69 and as low as -690.62, with a median of 28.99, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that MUR has a P/B ratio of 1.13. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 2.16. Within the past 52 weeks, MUR's P/B has been as high as 1.31 and as low as 0.78, with a median of 1.01.

Finally, investors should note that MUR has a P/CF ratio of 6.06. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.23. Over the past 52 weeks, MUR's P/CF has been as high as 8.52 and as low as 3.97, with a median of 6.25.

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


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