Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) . MPC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value.

We also note that MPC holds a PEG ratio of 1.59. 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 currently sports an average PEG of 2.39. Within the past year, MPC's PEG has been as high as 2.34 and as low as 0.98, with a median of 1.53.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MPC has a P/CF ratio of 5.88. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 6.15. Over the past year, MPC's P/CF has been as high as 7.12 and as low as 2.39, with a median of 4.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Marathon Petroleum is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, MPC sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) - free report >>

Published in