SSL or XOM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Investors interested in Oil and Gas - Integrated - International stocks are likely familiar with Sasol (SSL) and Exxon Mobil (XOM). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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.

Sasol and Exxon Mobil are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that SSL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

SSL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 5.47, while XOM has a forward P/E of 22.14. We also note that SSL has a PEG ratio of 0.77. 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. XOM currently has a PEG ratio of 15.48.

Another notable valuation metric for SSL is its P/B ratio of 0.63. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, XOM has a P/B of 2.36.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to SSL's Value grade of A and XOM's Value grade of C.

SSL has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than XOM, so it seems like value investors will conclude that SSL is the superior option right now.