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Is Marathon Oil (MRO) Outperforming Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?

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The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Marathon Oil (MRO - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Oils-Energy sector should help us answer this question.

Marathon Oil is a member of our Oils-Energy group, which includes 253 different companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Marathon Oil is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRO's full-year earnings has moved 28.1% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, MRO has moved about 133.9% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 33.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Marathon Oil is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Occidental Petroleum (OXY - Free Report) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 72.4%.

In Occidental Petroleum's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 116.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Marathon Oil belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #38 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 85% so far this year, meaning that MRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Occidental Petroleum is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to Marathon Oil and Occidental Petroleum as they could maintain their solid performance.


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