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Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

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The latest trading session saw Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) ending at $163.97, denoting a -1.16% adjustment from its last day's close. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.16%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.06%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the refiner had lost 4.65% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 7.84% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 1.96% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Marathon Petroleum will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on August 6, 2024. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $3.83, indicating a 28.01% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $32.04 billion, down 13% from the year-ago period.

MPC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $13.25 per share and revenue of $134.66 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -43.93% and -10.41%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 26.15% decrease. Marathon Petroleum is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Marathon Petroleum is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.52. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.25.

One should further note that MPC currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.09. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.09 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 208, this industry ranks in the bottom 18% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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