Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 7 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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7 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 7 undervalued stocks in the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry for Monday, January 29, 2024. 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.

Civitas Resources Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Civitas Resources, Inc. is an independent, domestic oil and gas producer focused on development of its assets in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) and Permian Basins. The Company’s operations are focused along the Denver-Julesburg (DJ), Delaware and Midland Basins. Its development facilities are located in counties across the Front Range of northern and central Colorado, as well as Southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Its acreage position in the DJ Basin is about 470,000 net acres and, in the Permian Basin, it is about 70,000 net acres. The Company has a total production of about 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

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.

Civitas Resources Inc has a Value Score of 83, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Civitas Resources Inc’s price-to-sales ratio at 1.84 compared to the industry median at 1.80, this company has a higher price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Civitas Resources Inc’s stock less attractive for value investors.

Civitas Resources Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 7.27 compared to the industry median at 7.27. This means it has a similar share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Civitas Resources Inc fairly attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Civitas Resources Inc’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 4.4, when compared to the industry median of 4.5, the company may be considered undervalued 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. Civitas Resources Inc’s shareholder yield is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.38%. 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. Civitas Resources Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.25. This could make Civitas Resources Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Civitas Resources Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Civitas Resources Inc’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 7.98. This could make Civitas Resources Inc more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Civitas Resources Inc 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.

Ecopetrol SA (ADR)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Ecopetrol S.A. is an oil company. The Company operates in Colombia, Peru, Brazil and the United States Gulf Coast. The Company's segments include Exploration and Production, Transportation and Logistics, and Refining, Petrochemicals and Biofuels. The Company's Exploration and Production segment includes exploration, development and production activities in Colombia and abroad. The Company's Transportation and Logistics segment includes the transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil and other refined products, including diesel and biofuels. The Company's main crude oil pipeline systems' operating capacity is approximately 1.34 million barrels per day (BPD). The Company's main refineries are the Barrancabermeja refinery, which it directly owns and operates, and a refinery in the Free Trade Zone in Cartagena that is operated by Reficar S.A., a subsidiary of the Company. The Company also owns and operates two other minor refineries: Orito and Apiay.

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.

Ecopetrol SA (ADR) has a Value Score of 93, which is considered to be undervalued.

Ecopetrol SA (ADR)’s price-earnings ratio is 4.6 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Ecopetrol SA (ADR) more attractive for value investors.

Ecopetrol SA (ADR)’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Ecopetrol SA (ADR) fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.25.

You can read more about Ecopetrol SA (ADR)’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.

EOG Resources Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) is an independent (non-integrated) crude oil and natural gas company. The Company is engaged in exploration, development, production and marketing crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States of America, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad), the Sultanate of Oman and other international areas. Its operations are all crude oil, NGLs and natural gas exploration and production related. Its operations are focused on the productive basins in the United States with a focus on crude oil and, to a lesser extent, liquids-rich natural gas plays. The Company has operations in offshore Trinidad and Oman, as well as it is executing an abandonment and reclamation program in Canada.

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.

EOG Resources Inc has a Value Score of 71, which is considered to be undervalued.

EOG Resources Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 8.6 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes EOG Resources Inc less attractive for value investors.

EOG Resources Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make EOG Resources Inc more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.25.

You can read more about EOG Resources 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.

EQT Corp’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

EQT Corporation is a natural gas producer with operations focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shales of the Appalachian Basin. It has approximately 25.0 trillion cubic feet equivalents (Tcfe) of proved natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil reserves across approximately 2.0 million gross acres, including approximately 1.8 million gross acres in the Marcellus play. The Company is focused on the execution of combo-development projects, which refers to the development of several multi-well pads in tandem. It owns or leases approximately 610,000 net acres in Pennsylvania. The Company owns or leases approximately 405,000 net acres in West Virginia. It also owns or leases approximately 65,000 net acres in eastern Ohio. It primarily contracts with MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (MarkWest) to process its natural gas and extract from the produced natural gas heavier hydrocarbon streams consisting of ethane, propane, isobutane, normal butane and natural gasoline.

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.

EQT Corp has a Value Score of 80, which is considered to be undervalued.

EQT Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 5.5 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes EQT Corp more attractive for value investors.

EQT Corp’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make EQT Corp less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.25.

You can read more about EQT 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.

Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust (the Royalty Trust) is a statutory trust. The Company holds overriding royalty interest in future production from each of McMoRan's Inboard Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous exploration prospects located in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in South Louisiana. The Royalty Trust's reserve fund short-term investments include United States treasury securities. The Company's subject interests consist of approximately 20 specified Inboard Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous. The offshore subject interests consisted of exploration prospects, including Barataria, Barbosa, Blackbeard East, Blackbeard West, Blackbeard West, Bonnet, Calico Jack, Captain Blood, Davy Jones, Davy Jones West, Drake, England, Hook, Hurricane, Lafitte, Morgan, and Queen Anne's Revenge. The Company?s onshore subject interests consisted of Highlander, Lineham Creek, and Tortuga.

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.

Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust has a Value Score of 72, which is considered to be undervalued.

Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust’s price-earnings ratio is 3.1 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust more attractive for value investors.

Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.25.

You can read more about Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust’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.

Hugoton Royalty Trust’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Hugoton Royalty Trust is an express trust, which is created pursuant to the Trust Indenture between XTO Energy Inc. (XTO Energy). Its properties are gas-producing properties located in the Hugoton area of Oklahoma and Kansas, the Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Green River Basin of Wyoming. XTO Energy operates approximately 95% of the underlying properties. The Company's Hugoton area is a domestic natural gas producing area. XTO Energy is a producer in the Ringwood, Northwest Okeene and Cheyenne Valley fields of County, the Northeast Cedardale field of Woodward County and the Elk City field of Beckham County, the principal producing regions of the properties in the Anadarko Basin. The Green River Basin is located in southwestern Wyoming. XTO Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

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.

Hugoton Royalty Trust has a Value Score of 99, which is considered to be undervalued.

Hugoton Royalty Trust’s price-earnings ratio is 1.1 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Hugoton Royalty Trust more attractive for value investors.

You can read more about Hugoton Royalty Trust’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.

Reserve Petroleum Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

The Reserve Petroleum Company is an independent oil and gas company. The Company is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and minerals management with areas of concentration in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Its principal properties are oil and natural gas properties. It has interests in approximately 860 producing properties with 69% of them being working interest properties and the remaining 31% being royalty interest properties. It owns non-producing mineral interests in 256,534 gross acres equivalent to 88,214 net acres. These mineral interests are in ten different states in the north and south-central United States. A total of 81,080 (92%) net acres are in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, the areas of concentration for the Company in its exploration and development programs. Its subsidiaries consist of majority owned Grand Woods Development, LLC and wholly owned Trinity Water Services, 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.

Reserve Petroleum Co has a Value Score of 69, which is considered to be undervalued.

Reserve Petroleum Co’s price-earnings ratio is 13.7 compared to the industry median at 7.3. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Reserve Petroleum Co less attractive for value investors.

Reserve Petroleum Co’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Reserve Petroleum Co less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.25.

You can read more about Reserve Petroleum Co’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 7 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.

• Civitas Resources Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Ecopetrol SA (ADR) stock has a Value Grade of A.
• EOG Resources Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• EQT Corp stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Hugoton Royalty Trust stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Reserve Petroleum Co stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 7 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.

• 7 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Monday, January 29
• 7 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Friday, January 26
• 3 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Thursday, January 25
• What You Need to Know About CNX Resources Corp's Q4 Earnings

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