SLB vs. CLB: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Investors interested in Oil and Gas - Field Services stocks are likely familiar with Schlumberger (SLB) and Core Laboratories (CLB). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Schlumberger is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Core Laboratories has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SLB is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

SLB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.41, while CLB has a forward P/E of 30.43. We also note that SLB has a PEG ratio of 0.47. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. CLB currently has a PEG ratio of 0.75.

Another notable valuation metric for SLB is its P/B ratio of 3.16. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, CLB has a P/B of 4.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SLB's Value grade of B and CLB's Value grade of C.

SLB is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that SLB is likely the superior value option right now.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Schlumberger Limited (SLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Core Laboratories N.V. (CLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research