The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Marathon Petroleum (MPC) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Marathon Petroleum is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 250 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Marathon Petroleum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPC's full-year earnings has moved 38.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, MPC has gained about 23.1% so far this year. At the same time, Oils-Energy stocks have gained an average of 8.1%. This means that Marathon Petroleum is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 36%.

For YPF Sociedad Anonima, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 41.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Marathon Petroleum is a member of the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry, which includes 15 individual companies and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.9% so far this year, so MPC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

YPF Sociedad Anonima, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry. Currently, this 13-stock industry is ranked #66. The industry has moved +9.7% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to track Marathon Petroleum and YPF Sociedad Anonima. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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