Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Sunoco Inc., Tesoro Corp., Western Refining Inc., Valero Energy Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp.

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 26, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Sunoco Inc. (SUN - Analyst Report), Tesoro Corp. (TSO - Analyst Report), Western Refining Inc. (WNR - Snapshot Report), Valero Energy Corp. (VLO - Analyst Report) and ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM - Analyst Report).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s AnalystBlog:

EIA: Fuel Supplies Fall Further

Though we welcome the bullish EIA data, we are not fully convinced about the sustainability of crude oil’s current gains, as the specter of a continued glut in global fuel supplies still weighs and all of the inventories remain higher compared to averages for this time of year. Moreover, the drop in petroleum stocks was triggered by weak refinery activity rather than a much awaited pick-up in oil demand.

As such, we prefer to maintain our cautious stance on oil refiners like Sunoco Inc. (SUN - Analyst Report), Tesoro Corp. (TSO - Analyst Report), Western Refining Inc. (WNR - Snapshot Report), given that the overall environment for refining margins is likely to remain poor going into 2010.

The sharply lower refinery utilization (at just 81.1% of capacity) provides enough evidence that refineries are cutting back on production because the economy is still struggling on the demand side. Being the largest independent refiner, Valero Energy Corp. (VLO - Analyst Report) remains particularly exposed to this unfavorable macro backdrop. We see little reason for investors to own Valero and have an Underperform recommendation on the company.

Companies like ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM - Analyst Report) -- oil majors that have significant refining operations -- are also expected to remain under pressure until pricing and demand improve.

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