Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Marathon Petroleum (MPC) closed at $152.43 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.93% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.02%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.22%.
Heading into today, shares of the refiner had gained 5.41% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 3.17% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.86% in that time.
Marathon Petroleum will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 31, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $6.79, down 13.06% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.48 billion, down 27.01% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $22.56 per share and revenue of $140.85 billion, which would represent changes of -13.76% and -21.73%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Marathon Petroleum. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 4.97% higher. Marathon Petroleum currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Marathon Petroleum has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.69 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 6.98, which means Marathon Petroleum is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that MPC has a PEG ratio of 1.12 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. The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.01 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 83, which puts it in the top 33% 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.
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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Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report