Is APA (APA) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

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.

APA (APA) is a stock many investors are watching right now. APA is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 3.74, while its industry has an average P/E of 5.85. Over the last 12 months, APA's Forward P/E has been as high as 43.67 and as low as 3.74, with a median of 6.27.

Investors should also note that APA holds a PEG ratio of 0.14. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. APA's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 0.18. Over the past 52 weeks, APA's PEG has been as high as 2.24 and as low as 0.09, with a median of 0.34.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. APA has a P/S ratio of 1.5. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 2.42.

Finally, investors should note that APA has a P/CF ratio of 3.34. 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. APA's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 11.65. Within the past 12 months, APA's P/CF has been as high as 6.44 and as low as 2.77, with a median of 4.89.

Investors could also keep in mind Oasis Petroleum (OAS), an Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States stock with a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) and Value grade of A.

Oasis Petroleum sports a P/B ratio of 1.82 as well; this compares to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.23. In the past 52 weeks, OAS's P/B has been as high as 2.50, as low as 1.49, with a median of 2.02.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in APA and Oasis Petroleum'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 APA and OAS is an impressive value stock right now.

Special Report: The Top 5 IPOs for Your Portfolio

Today, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the best investment opportunities of the year. As the world continues to benefit from an ever-evolving internet, a handful of innovative tech companies are on the brink of reaping immense rewards - and you can put yourself in a position to cash in. One is set to disrupt the online communication industry. Brilliantly designed for creating online communities, this stock is poised to explode when made public. With the strength of our economy and record amounts of cash flooding into IPOs, you don’t want to miss this opportunity.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.