Should Value Investors Buy BP (BP) Stock?

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.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. 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 BP (BP). BP is currently holding a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A.

Investors should also recognize that BP has a P/B ratio of 1.13. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. BP's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.96. Over the past 12 months, BP's P/B has been as high as 1.22 and as low as 0.90, with a median of 1.07.

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 popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. BP has a P/S ratio of 0.53. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.02.

Finally, our model also underscores that BP has a P/CF ratio of 5.13. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. BP's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 7.12. Over the past 52 weeks, BP's P/CF has been as high as 5.93 and as low as 3.57, with a median of 4.92.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in BP's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that BP is an impressive value stock right now.

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

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