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Why Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Dipped More Than Broader Market Today

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Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $171.75, demonstrating a -1.19% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.16% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.09%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.3%.

Shares of the refiner witnessed a gain of 1.71% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Oils-Energy sector with its gain of 0.93% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 3.64%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Marathon Petroleum in its forthcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to post earnings of $3.20 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 60.69%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $31.76 billion, down 23.63% from the prior-year quarter.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $14.33 per share and revenue of $137.58 billion, indicating changes of -39.36% and -8.47%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.69% lower. At present, Marathon Petroleum boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Marathon Petroleum is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.13. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.37.

Meanwhile, MPC's PEG ratio is currently 2.02. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.43 at yesterday's closing price.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 189, positioning it in the bottom 26% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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