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Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

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Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $148.91, moving +1.6% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.52% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.58%.

Heading into today, shares of the refiner had lost 4.87% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.11% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.61% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Marathon Petroleum in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on October 31, 2023. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $7, reflecting a 10.37% decrease from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $34.27 billion, showing a 27.44% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $22.98 per share and revenue of $140.65 billion. These totals would mark changes of -12.16% and -21.84%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 5.38% upward. Marathon Petroleum is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

In the context of valuation, Marathon Petroleum is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 6.38. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 6.78, so one might conclude that Marathon Petroleum is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that MPC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.06. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.94.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 27, this industry ranks in the top 11% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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