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Are These Oils-Energy Stocks a Great Value Stocks Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

One company value investors might notice is Murphy USA (MUSA - Free Report) . MUSA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. MUSA has a P/S ratio of 0.27. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.34.

Finally, we should also recognize that MUSA has a P/CF ratio of 8.95. 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 stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 26.19. Over the past year, MUSA's P/CF has been as high as 9.51 and as low as 6.36, with a median of 7.87.

Another great Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing stock you could consider is Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) , which is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Phillips 66 is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 11.14 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 0.58. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 12.98 and average PEG ratio of 1.15.

Over the last 12 months, PSX's P/E has been as high as 27.30, as low as 9.89, with a median of 16.30, and its PEG ratio has been as high as 3.90, as low as 0.50, with a median of 0.79.

Furthermore, Phillips 66 holds a P/B ratio of 1.86 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.43. PSX's P/B has been as high as 1.98, as low as 1.37, with a median of 1.67 over the past 12 months.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Murphy USA and Phillips 66 are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MUSA and PSX feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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