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Is Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Stock Outpacing Its Oils-Energy Peers 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 Petroleum (MPC - 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 Petroleum is one of 252 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #14 within 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Marathon Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPC's full-year earnings has moved 30.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, MPC has returned 12.4% so far this year. In comparison, Oils-Energy companies have returned an average of 1%. This shows that Marathon Petroleum is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Oils-Energy stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Par Petroleum (PARR - Free Report) . The stock has returned 10.2% year-to-date.

In Par Petroleum's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 54% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Marathon Petroleum belongs to the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, a group that includes 16 individual companies and currently sits at #40 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 1% so far this year, meaning that MPC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Par Petroleum is also part of the same industry.

Marathon Petroleum and Par Petroleum could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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