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Is Par Pacific (PARR) Stock Outpacing Its Oils-Energy Peers This Year?

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The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Par Petroleum (PARR - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Oils-Energy peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Par Petroleum is one of 252 individual stocks in the Oils-Energy sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Par Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PARR's full-year earnings has moved 27.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that PARR has returned about 128.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 26.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Par Petroleum is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Venture Global (VG - Free Report) . The stock is up 106.2% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Venture Global's current year EPS has increased 10.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Par Petroleum belongs to the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #40 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 57.1% so far this year, so PARR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Venture Global falls under the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. Currently, this industry has 34 stocks and is ranked #210. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +25.2%.

Par Petroleum and Venture Global 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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