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

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Marathon Petroleum (MPC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $55.33, moving -1.14% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.2%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the refiner had lost 8.2% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.03% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.25% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from MPC as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 29, 2020. In that report, analysts expect MPC to post earnings of $0.85 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 64.73%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $29.69 billion, down 8.75% from the year-ago period.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MPC. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.74% lower within the past month. MPC is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, MPC is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.85. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.01.

Investors should also note that MPC has a PEG ratio of 0.7 right now. 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. MPC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.52 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 116, which puts it in the top 46% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

To follow MPC in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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