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Marathon Oil (MRO) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Marathon Oil (MRO - Free Report) closed at $27.01 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.07% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.7% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.56%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 7.5%.

Heading into today, shares of the energy company had lost 0.55% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 3.67% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 0.94% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Marathon Oil as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.97, up 25.97% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.82 billion, up 0.95% from the year-ago period.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Oil. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 4.14% lower within the past month. Marathon Oil is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Marathon Oil has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.75 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.72.

Also, we should mention that MRO has a PEG ratio of 0.28. 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 - Integrated - United States was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.39 at yesterday's closing price.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, which puts it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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