Top Basic Materials Sector Picking: Hess Corporation (HES), Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC)

Hess Corporation (HES) ended last trading session with a change of 0.78 percent. It trades at an average volume of 3.93M shares versus 6.24M shares recorded at the end of last trading session. The share price of $47.79 is at a distance of 5.75 percent from its 52-week low and down -26.82 percent versus its peak. The company has a market cap of $15.43B and currently has 322.93M shares outstanding. The share price is currently -6.54 percent versus its SMA20, -13.3 percent versus its SMA50, and -12.35 percent versus its SMA200. The stock has a weekly performance of -6.35 percent and is -23.28 percent year-to-date as of the recent close.

On January 25, 2017 Hess Corp. (HES) reported a net loss of $4,892 million, or $15.65 per common share, in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with a net loss of $1,821 million, or $6.43 per common share, in the fourth quarter of 2015. Fourth quarter 2016 results include a noncash accounting charge of $3,749 million on deferred tax assets. This financial reporting requirement has no cash flow or economic impact. Fourth quarter results also include an after-tax charge of $693 million to impair our Equus natural gas project, offshore the North West Shelf of Australia, and other after-tax charges totaling $145 million. Excluding items affecting comparability between periods, fourth quarter 2016 net loss was $305 million, or $1.01 per common share, compared to a net loss of $396 million, or $1.40 per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. The adjusted fourth quarter 2016 results reflect higher realized crude oil selling prices and improved total production unit costs.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) recently recorded 2.25 percent change and currently at $50.99 is 63.12 percent away from its 52-week low and down -5.92 percent versus its peak. It has a past 5-day performance of -0.31 percent and trades at an average volume of 5.18M shares. The stock has a 1-month performance of 2.86 percent and is 2 percent year-to-date as of the recent close. There were about 528M shares outstanding which made its market cap $26.92B. The share price is currently 1.35 percent versus its SMA20, 3 percent versus its SMA50, and 18.6 percent versus its SMA200.

On March 1, 2017 Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) and MPLX LP (MPLX) closed a transaction in which MPC contributed certain terminal, pipeline and storage assets to MPLX for total consideration of $2.015 billion.

The assets include 62 light-product terminals with approximately 24 million barrels of storage capacity; 11 pipeline systems consisting of 604 miles of pipeline; 73 tanks with approximately 7.8 million barrels of storage capacity; a crude oil truck unloading facility at MPC`s refinery in Canton, Ohio; and eight natural gas liquids storage caverns in Woodhaven, Michigan, with approximately 1.8 million barrels of capacity.