Is Gran Tierra (GTE) A Suitable Pick For Value Investors?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSE:GTE) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Gran Tierra has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 5.18, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 17.79. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Gran Tierra’s current PE ratio slightly below its midpoint (which is 6.83) over the past five years.

Further the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Zacks Oils-Energy sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.04. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Gran Tierra has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 8.36, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near future.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Gran Tierra has a P/S ratio of about 0.76. This is noticeably lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.14 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is somewhat below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Gran Tierra currently has a Value Style Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes GTE a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, the P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 1.51, which is slightly better than the industry average of 1.89. Clearly, GTE is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Gran Tierra might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of C and a Momentum score of A. This gives GTE a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current year has seen one estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to none lower, while the full-year 2020 estimate has seen a similar trend in the same time period.

This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as the current year consensus estimate has surged 55.6% in the past two months, while the full-year 2020 estimate has risen 6.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Gran Tierra is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Boasting a good industry rank (top 25% out of more than 250 industries) and a top Zacks Rank, the company deserves attention right now. However, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for the industry trend to turn favorable in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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