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Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

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The latest trading session saw Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) ending at $141.58, denoting a -1.12% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.8% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.18%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.37%.

Shares of the refiner have depreciated by 0.22% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 4.19% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 4.39%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Marathon Petroleum in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.85, indicating a 57.14% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.03 billion, down 15.11% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $22.24 per share and revenue of $147.19 billion. These totals would mark changes of -14.98% and -18.2%, respectively, from last year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Marathon Petroleum. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.17% lower. Marathon Petroleum is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Marathon Petroleum's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6.44. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 6.57.

One should further note that MPC currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.07. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.82.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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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