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Has Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Outpaced 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. 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? 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 Petroleum is one of 254 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #2 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Marathon Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPC's full-year earnings has moved 89.6% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that MPC has returned about 56.9% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Oils-Energy stocks have gained an average of 30.4%. As we can see, Marathon Petroleum is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Oils-Energy stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) . The stock has returned 31.2% year-to-date.

For Suncor Energy, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 21.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Marathon Petroleum is a member of the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, which includes 16 individual companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 34.6% so far this year, so MPC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Suncor Energy, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - Canadian industry. Currently, this 4-stock industry is ranked #5. The industry has moved +40.4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to Marathon Petroleum and Suncor Energy as they could maintain their solid performance.


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