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Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) closed at $152.67, marking a +0.34% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.94%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.22%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.53%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the refiner had gained 6.44% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 4.35% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.85% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Marathon Petroleum as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 31, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to post earnings of $6.62 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 15.24%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.48 billion, down 27.01% from the prior-year quarter.

MPC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $22.37 per share and revenue of $140.85 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -14.49% and -21.73%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.23% higher. Marathon Petroleum is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Marathon Petroleum has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.8 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.09.

Also, we should mention that MPC has a PEG ratio of 1.13. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. MPC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.03 as of yesterday's close.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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