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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. Is Marathon Oil (MRO - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Oils-Energy peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Marathon Oil is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 253 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Marathon Oil is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRO's full-year earnings has moved 30.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, MRO has gained about 140.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 32.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Marathon Oil is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Occidental Petroleum (OXY - Free Report) . The stock is up 67.1% year-to-date.

For Occidental Petroleum, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 99% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Marathon Oil belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry, a group that includes 12 individual companies and currently sits at #116 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 81.4% so far this year, so MRO is performing better in this area. 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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