Is Marathon Oil (MRO) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find 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 tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system’s “Value” category. Stocks with both “A” grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Marathon Oil (MRO). MRO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is MRO’s P/B ratio of 0.89. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock’s market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. MRO’s current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry’s average P/B of 1.31. Within the past 52 weeks, MRO’s P/B has been as high as 1.26 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 0.92.

Finally, our model also underscores that MRO has a P/CF ratio of 3.32. This metric takes into account a company’s operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This stock’s P/CF looks attractive against its industry’s average P/CF of 4.05. Over the past year, MRO’s P/CF has been as high as 4.64 and as low as 2.71, with a median of 3.35.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Marathon Oil’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 MRO is an impressive value stock right now.

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