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Has Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Outpaced Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Marathon Petroleum is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 248 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Marathon Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPC's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that MPC has returned about 5.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Oils-Energy group have lost about 2.5% on average. This shows that Marathon Petroleum is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Par Petroleum (PARR - Free Report) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 11.1%.

The consensus estimate for Par Petroleum's current year EPS has increased 62.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong 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 #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 2.6% so far this year, meaning that MPC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Par Petroleum is also part of the same industry.

Marathon Petroleum and Par Petroleum could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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