We know that Oil – Energy stocks can take a sudden turn for the good (or bad), making stock picking a risky game. Let’s look at three stocks, with substantial EPS growth over the last four years, which investors may want to consider buying at the current levels.
While many energy companies are struggling with volatility in energy prices in the current market environment, NuStar Energy (NS – Free Report) is at the top of the list of stocks to have reached ‘Buy’ territory.
NuStar is a master limited partnership that engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil as well as refined products in the United States, the Netherlands Antilles, Canada, Mexico and the U.K.
Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) NuStar’s stock price has slightly trended higher in the recent past, with its valuation also supporting that there could be more upside. Trading around $17 a share and 19.33X forward earnings, NS stock trades well below its historical high of 47.99X and at a 6% discount to the median of 20.55X
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You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
NuStar is still down 65.7% in a decade but has climbed 4.7% over the last three months, yet underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 Index. NuStar earnings are expected to drop 5.4% for the current year but turn around 17.2% next year to $1.02 per share. As a matter of fact, 2023 could witness an acceptable 17% increase from the 2019 adjusted EPS of 87 cents a share.
Another candidate for attractive EPS growth is Murphy USA (MUSA – Free Report) . It belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas – Refining & Marketing industry, which is currently in the top 47% of over 250 Zacks Industries.
It is a leading independent retailer of motor fuel and convenience merchandise in the United States. MUSA stock currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1, with earnings estimate revisions trending higher for 2023.
Trading at a little over $273 per share and 14.24X forward earnings, MUSA stock has a VGM Score of A. In fact, the company trades 49% below its decade high of 28X and at a 14% discount to the median of 16.58X.
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MUSA stock is now up 590.1% over the last decade to comprehensively beat the S&P 500’s increase of 163.5%. But in the recent past, the stock has gained 3.3% over the last three months and declined 2% in the past month, underperforming the benchmark during both periods. In other words, Murphy USA shares appear to be oversold at the moment, considering its top rank and valuation.
MUSA earnings are forecast to dip 31.7% this year and drop another 2.3% in 2024 to $18.76 per share. However, that would still be an outstanding 257% increase from the 2019 adjusted EPS of $5.26 a share.
Rounding out the list is Sunoco LP (SUN – Free Report) , which is part of the well-placed Zacks Oil and Gas – Refining & Marketing MLP industry, currently in the top 15% of all Zacks Industries.
Sunoco participates in the transportation and supply phase of the U.S. petroleum market across a number of states. It also focuses on motor fuel distribution to convenience stores, independent dealers and commercial customers.
Sunoco is also Zacks #1 Ranked, with earnings estimate revisions trending higher. Even better, this year’s earnings estimates are up 6.5% over the last 30 days. Moreover, trading at $44.41 per share and 9.62X forward earnings. SUN trades far more conservatively to its ten-year high of 245.52X and at a 26% discount to the median of 12.97X.
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While Sunoco stock had gained only 48% over the last decade, it has climbed 23% in the last two years alone to crush the S&P 500’s decline of 0.7%. Over the past month, the stock is down 2.4% though the benchmark has gained 1.9% during the period.
Sunoco earnings are now expected to edge down 1.3% for its current year at $4.62 per share and shed another 2.4% in 2024. But what’s impressive is that this year’s earnings of $4.62 per share are likely to see a neat 64% increase over the last five years, with 2019 EPS at $2.82 a share.
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Original Article: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2098673/good-time-to-buy-these-3-top-energy-stocks-with-eps-growth?art_rec=home-home-investment_ideas_stocks-ID03-txt-2098673
