Are Oil Stocks Cheap or Value Traps?

As much as the rest of the stock market has been on a strange, painful ride over the past six weeks, oil stocks have been brutalized. Global oil markets are in total disarray as oil demand craters with global travel all but halted, and Saudi Arabia threatens to flood the market further in an effort to re-establish its dominance. 

Yet even with demand cratering and global heavyweights threatening to drown out competitors, there's still hope. OPEC and other producers including Russia are set to meet this week to discuss potential output cuts to help stabilize oil prices in the near term. In the long term, oil demand will recover once travel resumes and businesses reopen. 

The oil patch is laden with risk, but there is value for investors willing to be patient. Image source: Getty Images.

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