Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) closed at $53.29, marking a +0.19% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.22%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the refiner had gained 17.16% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 3.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.58% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MPC as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, MPC is projected to report earnings of $1.55 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 8.76%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.83 billion, up 50.58% from the prior-year quarter.
MPC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.93 per share and revenue of $125.59 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -42% and +29.34%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MPC. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for 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.
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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 9.76% lower. MPC currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note MPC's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.53. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.73, so we one might conclude that MPC is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that MPC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.36. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.1 as of yesterday's close.
The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 151, putting it in the bottom 42% 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
