Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 6 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.

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.

Click the button below to learn more about A+ Investor and subscribe today.

6 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 6 undervalued stocks in the Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production industry for Friday, May 10, 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.

Berry Corporation (Bry)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Berry Corporation (bry) is an independent upstream energy company. The Company operates through two segments: exploration and production (E&P;) and well servicing and abandonment (CJWS). The E&P; segment consists of the development and production of onshore, low geologic risk, long-lived conventional oil and gas reserves, primarily located in California, as well as Utah. Its California operating area consists of properties located in Midway-Sunset, South Belridge, McKittrick and Poso Creek fields in the San Joaquin basin in Kern County. The Company operates Uinta basin operations in the Brundage Canyon, Ashley Forest, and Lake Canyon areas in Utah. The well servicing and abandonment segment provides wellsite services in California for oil and natural gas production companies, with a focus on well servicing, well abandonment services and water logistics. The Company’s subsidiaries include Berry Petroleum Company, LLC; CJ Berry Well Services Management, LLC; and C&J; Well 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.

Berry Corporation (Bry) has a Value Score of 97, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Berry Corporation (Bry)’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.76 compared to the industry median at 2.25, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Berry Corporation (Bry)’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Berry Corporation (Bry)’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 4.2, when compared to the industry median of 5.0, 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. Berry Corporation (Bry)’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 2.67%. 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. Berry Corporation (Bry)’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.38. This could make Berry Corporation (Bry) more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Berry Corporation (Bry)’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Berry Corporation (Bry)’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 8.23. This could make Berry Corporation (Bry) more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Berry Corporation (Bry) 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.

VAALCO Energy, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

VAALCO Energy, Inc. is an independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Company’s segments include segments Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. It holds 58.8% participating interest in the Etame Marin block, located offshore Gabon in West Africa. The Etame Marin block covers an area of approximately 46,200 gross acres located 20 miles offshore in water depths of approximately 250 feet. The operations of all segments include exploration for and production of hydrocarbons where commercial reserves have been found and developed. The Company owns an interest in an undeveloped block offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. The Company conducts its operating activities in Egypt, Canada, and offshore Gabon. In Egypt, its interests are spread across two regions: the Eastern Desert, which contains the West Gharib, West Bakr and Northwest Gharib merged concessions, and the Western Desert.

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.

VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a Value Score of 91, which is considered to be undervalued.

VAALCO Energy, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.0 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a higher price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes VAALCO Energy, Inc. less attractive for value investors.

VAALCO Energy, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make VAALCO Energy, Inc. fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.38.

You can read more about VAALCO Energy, 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.

Matador Resources Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with an emphasis on oil and natural gas shale and other unconventional plays. It operates through two segments: exploration and production and midstream. The exploration and production segment are engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States and is focused primarily on the oil and liquids-rich portion of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The midstream segment conducts midstream operations in support of the Company’s exploration, development and production operations and provides natural gas processing, oil transportation services, oil, natural gas and produced water gathering services and produced water disposal services to third parties.

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.

Matador Resources Co has a Value Score of 78, which is considered to be undervalued.

Matador Resources Co’s price-earnings ratio is 8.9 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Matador Resources Co more attractive for value investors.

Matador Resources Co’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Matador Resources Co more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.38.

You can read more about Matador Resources 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.

North European Oil Royalty Trust’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

North European Oil Royalty Trust (the Trust) is a grantor trust which, on behalf of the owners of units of beneficial interest in the Trust (the unit owners), holds overriding royalty rights covering gas and oil production in certain concessions or leases in the Federal Republic of Germany. The rights are held under contracts with local German exploration and development subsidiaries of ExxonMobil Corp. (ExxonMobil) and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Royal Dutch/Shell Group). Under these contracts, the Trust receives various percentage royalties on the proceeds of the sales of certain products from the areas involved. Its royalties are received for sales of gas well gas, oil well gas, crude oil, condensate and sulfur. The Trust conducts no active business operations and is restricted to collection of income from royalty rights and distribution to unit owners of the net income after payment of administrative and related expenses.

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.

North European Oil Royalty Trust has a Value Score of 63, which is considered to be undervalued.

North European Oil Royalty Trust’s price-earnings ratio is 6.2 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes North European Oil Royalty Trust more attractive for value investors.

North European Oil Royalty Trust’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make North European Oil Royalty Trust more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.38.

You can read more about North European Oil 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.

Riley Exploration Permian Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., together with its subsidiaries is an independent oil and natural gas company. The Company is focused on the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The Company focuses on horizontal drilling and completions applied to conventional formations in the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin is an oil and natural gas producing area located in West Texas and the adjoining area of Southeastern New Mexico covering an area approximately 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, and encompasses several sub-basins, including the Delaware Basin, Midland Basin, Central Basin Platform and Northwest Shelf. The San Andres Formation is a shelf margin deposit composed of dolomitized carbonates. Its acreage is primarily located on large contiguous blocks in Yoakum County, Texas, which represents its Champions Field and Eddy County, New Mexico.

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.

Riley Exploration Permian Inc has a Value Score of 94, which is considered to be undervalued.

Riley Exploration Permian Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 4.9 compared to the industry median at 10.4. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Riley Exploration Permian Inc more attractive for value investors.

Riley Exploration Permian Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Riley Exploration Permian Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.38.

You can read more about Riley Exploration Permian 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.

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. The Company’s principal properties are oil and natural gas properties. It has interests in approximately 879 producing properties with 76% of them being working interest properties and the remaining 24% being royalty interest properties. It owns non-producing mineral interests of 88,214 net acres out of 256,534 gross acres. These mineral interests are in twelve 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 include Grand Woods Development, LLC and 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 87, which is considered to be undervalued.

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 1.38.

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 6 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.

• Berry Corporation (Bry) stock has a Value Grade of A.
• VAALCO Energy, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Matador Resources Co stock has a Value Grade of B.
• North European Oil Royalty Trust stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Riley Exploration Permian Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Reserve Petroleum Co stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 6 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.

• 6 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Friday, May 10
• 7 Undervalued Oil & Gas - Exploration and Production Stocks for Thursday, May 09
• Why Amplify Energy Corp’s (AMPY) Stock Is Down 7.54%
• Why Highpeak Energy Inc’s (HPK) Stock Is Up 9.55%

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.