Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Latest Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stock News

Before choosing which top Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production stock to buy, be sure to conduct proper due diligence: analyze various financial metrics and look at historical data, public statements and news coverage.

The outlook for the oil and gas exploration and production sub-industry is mostly favorable for the foreseeable future. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major oil shock occurred in 2020. Since then, crude oil prices have begun to recover, currently priced at around $60 per barrel as a result of persistent supply cuts by the OPEC-Plus Consortium. While the demand perspective remains uncertain, from a supply perspective, both OPEC and non-OPEC participants have a conservative production outlook in 2021. The most significant unknown factor is the potential lifting of Iran sanctions by the Biden administration and its impact. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), oil demand is expected to increase by about 5.4 mmb/d, to 96.4 mmb/d in 2021. While this appears to be a strong year-over-year increase, it is well in line with the 2019 demand of around 100 mmb/d, signifying only a 60% recovery from the pandemic. In May 2021, the EIA forecasted WTI crude oil prices as $59 dollars per barrel in 2021 and $57 per barrel in 2022. At these price points, exploration and production operations are expected to generate significant free cashflow.

Why Focus on Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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4 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry for Monday, December 18, 2023. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

California Resources Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

California Resources Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operating properties within California. The Company has the lowest carbon intensity production in the United States, which is focused on land, mineral and technical resources for decarbonization by developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other emissions-reducing projects. The CCS project at the Elk Hills Field is referred to as Carbon TerraVault I. These projects inject CO2 from industrial sources into depleted underground oil and gas reservoirs and permanently store CO2 deep underground. The Company has operations in oil and gas basins, including San Joaquin Basin, Los Angeles Basin, and Sacramento Basin. San Joaquin Basin operates and develops approximately 42 fields and holds approximately 1.24 million net mineral acres in the San Joaquin Basin. Los Angeles Basin holds approximately 29,000 net mineral acres. Sacramento Basin operates approximately 50 fields.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

California Resources Corp has a Value Score of 86, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at California Resources Corp’s price-to-sales ratio at 1.30 compared to the industry median at 1.82, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make California Resources Corp’s stock more attractive for value investors.

California Resources Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 8.34 compared to the industry median at 7.72. This means it has a higher share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make California Resources Corp less attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess California Resources Corp’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 4.5, when compared to the industry median of 4.5, the company may be considered fairly valued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. California Resources Corp’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 1.32%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. California Resources Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 1.27. This could make California Resources Corp less attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at California Resources Corp’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. California Resources Corp’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is higher than its industry median ratio of 7.81. This could make California Resources Corp less attractive because the higher P/FCF ratio indicates that California Resources Corp is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

Chevron Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Chevron Corporation is an integrated energy company. The Company produces crude oil and natural gas; manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and additives, and develops technologies that enhance its business and the industry. Its Upstream operations consist of exploring for, developing, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas (LNG); transporting crude oil by international oil export pipelines; processing, transporting, storage and marketing of natural gas, and a gas-to-liquids plant. Its Downstream segment is engaged in refining crude oil into petroleum products; marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants; manufacturing and marketing of renewable fuels, and others. Its projects include Gorgon, Wheatstone, Jack/St. Malo, Tengiz Expansion, Big Foot, Permian Basin and Angola LNG. It also has approximately 275,000 net acres in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Chevron Corporation has a Value Score of 64, which is considered to be undervalued.

Chevron Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 11.1 compared to the industry median at 7.7. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Chevron Corporation less attractive for value investors.

Chevron Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Chevron Corporation more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.27.

You can read more about Chevron Corporation’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Gulfport Energy Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas-weighted exploration and production company. The Company is focused on the exploration, acquisition, and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquid (NGL) in the United States, with a primary focus in the Appalachia and Anadarko basins. Its principal properties are located in Eastern Ohio, targeting the Utica and in central Oklahoma targeting the South-Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) Woodford and SCOOP Springer formations. The Utica is a hydrocarbon-bearing rock formation located in the Appalachian Basin of the United States and Canada. It has approximately 188,000 net reservoir acres located primarily in Belmont, Harrison, Jefferson and Monroe Counties in Eastern Ohio. The SCOOP play mainly targets the Devonian to Mississippian aged Woodford Shale. It has approximately 73,000 net reservoir acres located primarily in Garvin, Grady and Stephens Counties.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Gulfport Energy Corp has a Value Score of 96, which is considered to be undervalued.

Gulfport Energy Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 1.5 compared to the industry median at 7.7. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Gulfport Energy Corp more attractive for value investors.

Gulfport Energy Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Gulfport Energy Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.27.

You can read more about Gulfport Energy Corp’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

W&T; Offshore, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

W&T; Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer. The Company is engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company has an interest in over 47 offshore producing fields in federal and state waters (45 fields producing and two fields capable of producing, which include 39 fields in federal waters and eight in state waters). The Company has under lease approximately 625,000 gross acres spanning across the outer continental shelf off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, with approximately 8,000 gross acres in Alabama State waters, 458,000 gross acres on the conventional shelf and approximately 159,000 gross acres in the deep water. The Company?s wholly owned subsidiaries include Aquasition Energy, LLC, Aquasition, LLC, Aquasition II, LLC, Aquasition III, LLC, Aquasition IV, LLC, Aquasition V, LLC, Green Hell, LLC, Seaquester, LLC, Seaquestration, LLC and W & T Energy VI, LLC.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

W&T; Offshore, Inc. has a Value Score of 64, which is considered to be undervalued.

W&T; Offshore, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 8.1 compared to the industry median at 7.7. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes W&T; Offshore, Inc. less attractive for value investors.

W&T; Offshore, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make W&T; Offshore, Inc. more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.27.

You can read more about W&T; Offshore, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 4 Best Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• California Resources Corp stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Chevron Corporation stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Gulfport Energy Corp stock has a Value Grade of A.
• W&T; Offshore, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 undervalued stocks in the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks

Want to learn more about Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 4 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Monday, December 18
• What You Need to Know About Advantage Energy Ltd's Q3 Earnings
• What You Need to Know About Antero Resources Corp's Q3 Earnings
• What You Need to Know About APA Corp (US)'s Q3 Earnings

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