Are Investors Undervaluing SM Energy (SM) Right Now?

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore 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 a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One stock to keep an eye on is SM Energy (SM). SM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 4.93 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 10.39. Over the past year, SM's Forward P/E has been as high as 6.51 and as low as 2.85, with a median of 4.90.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. SM has a P/S ratio of 1.98. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.99.

Talos Energy (TALO) may be another strong Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States stock to add to your shortlist. TALO is a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Talos Energy sports a P/B ratio of 0.62 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.05. In the past 52 weeks, TALO's P/B has been as high as 0.78, as low as 0.42, with a median of 0.61.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that SM Energy and Talos Energy are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SM and TALO sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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