Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, European oil and gas giant Total
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Total's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Total facts
| Headquarters (Founded) | Courbevoie, France (1924) |
| Market Cap | $119.5 billion |
| Industry | Integrated oil and gas |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $178.22 billion |
| Management | CEO Christophe de Margerie (since 2007) CFO Patrick de la Chevardire (since 2008) |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 21% |
| Cash/Debt | $26.1 billion / $41.6 billion |
| Dividend Yield | 5.5% |
| Competitors |
BP ExxonMobil Royal Dutch Shell |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 98% of the 1,070 members who have rated Total believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include d0uggie and All-Star PsychoDr, who is ranked in the top 6% of our community.
Late last month , d0uggie touched on the stock's cheapish valuation: "Despite recent surge in the energy sector, [Total] has lagged compared to its peers. Next year, I expect the energy sector to continue to run up due to rise in oil prices. [Total] will eventually catch up since it has relatively low P/E, strong dividends."
In addition to sporting an industry-topping dividend yield, Total currently trades at a P/E (8.4) discount to energy giants Exxon (12.9), Royal Dutch (13.4), Chevron
First, the dividend. Current share price makes dividend very attractive. Next, consider the petrochemical portion of the company which allows them to produce a variety of products based on oil derivatives. They have a much easier time developing relationships with middle eastern countries (including Lybia) than do American oil companies, and there is less political risk for [Total] in this part of the world. ... [Total] is one of my dividend behemoths.
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