Three refining companies that may be catching investors' attention in the Oil/Energy space are Valero Energy (VLO) , Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Phillips 66 (PSX) . As a matter of fact, the stocks again made headlines on Wednesday after reaching fresh highs.VLO, MPC and PSX climbed to their all-time highs of $182.73, $218.59 and $173.55, respectively. On the day, each of them saw their share price increase about 2%. This jump marks a year-to-date ascent of somewhere between 30% and 45% for the operators.Wh ...

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.Over the past month, shares of this refiner have returned +20.7%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.5% change. During this period, the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, which Marathon Petroleum falls in, has gained 14.8%. The key question now is: What could be the ...

If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Marathon Petroleum (MPC) . This company, which is in the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.This refiner has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past t ...

Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the 'long' context, investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.Whil ...

The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Marathon Petroleum (MPC) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Oils-Energy sector should help us answer this question.Marathon Petroleum is a member of our Oils-Energy group, which includes 251 different companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank ...

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Marathon Petroleum (MPC) .Marathon Petroleum currently has an average brok ...

Have you been paying attention to shares of Marathon Petroleum (MPC) ? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 17.7% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $205.49 in the previous session. Marathon Petroleum has gained 37.8% since the start of the year compared to the 8.6% move for the Zacks Oils-Energy sector and the 10.3% return for the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry.What's Driving the Outperformance?The stock has an impressive record of positive earnings surp ...

Momentum investing is essentially the opposite of the tried-and-tested Wall Street adage -- "buy low and sell high." Investors following this investing style typically avoid betting on cheap stocks and waiting long for them to recover. They believe instead that one could make far more money in lesser time by "buying high and selling higher."Who doesn't like betting on fast-moving trending stocks? But determining the right entry point isn't easy. Often, these stocks lose momentum once their valuation moves a ...

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesGetty ImagesThe underperforming energy sector has been recovering. The sector relative strength has risen from last place to number six. Since 2000, this level of improvement has led to higher prices over the next four weeks in seven of eight cases. The internal readings such as breadth are improving within the sector; the advance-decline has hit a new high. These positive developments are occurring in the bullish March-April time frame. April has brought higher prices i ...

Marathon Petroleum (MPC) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.Shares of this refiner have returned +19.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.6% change. The Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, to which Marathon Petroleum belongs, has gained 9.5% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be h ...