For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX) and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

Marathon Beats, Production Up

Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) third-quarter 2009 results came in better-than-expected, helped by the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment losses, came in at 61 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents.

However, as

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Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) third-quarter 2009 results came in better-than-expected, helped by the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment losses, came in at 61 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents. However, as has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported -- Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) -- earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were quite ugly, severely hampered by lower realized commodity prices and weak refining margins. Marathon’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 77.9%, while sales declined 37.9% to $14.5 billion. Lower Prices More Than Offset Increased Upstream Volumes Income from the upstream segment totaled $491 million during the quarter, down 43.5% from the year-ago level. The company reported production (available for sale) of 393,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 5, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX) and WellPoint Inc. (WLP).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Marathon Misses on Lower Prices

Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) second-quarter 2009 results came in sharply weaker-than-expected, with the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production and improved refining margins more than offset by lower realized commodity prices. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment gains, came in

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Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) second-quarter 2009 results came in sharply weaker-than-expected, with the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production and improved refining margins more than offset by lower realized commodity prices. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment gains, came in at 35 cents, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents.   As has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported -- Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) -- earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were even worse. Marathon’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 71%, while sales declined 40% to $13 billion. Lower Prices More Than Offset Increased Upstream Volumes Income from the upstream segment totaled $220 million during the quarter, down more than 73% from the year-ago level.   The company reported production (available for sale) of 411,000 oil-equivalent barrels per ...

Chevron Corporation (CVX) reported better-than-expected second-quarter 2009 earnings, driven by robust upstream volumes and improved downstream results. Earnings per share, excluding foreign-currency effects, came in at $1.10, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.95.   On a year-over-year basis, Chevron’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 62.8%, while revenue declined 51.6% to $40.2 billion, reflecting lower prices for crude oil and natural gas.   Upstream Earnings Plummet: Increased Volumes Offset By Lower Prices   Chevron’s total production of crude oil and natural gas increased by 5.2% from the year-earlier level to 2.7 million oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), driven by new project start-ups and the impact of lower prices on production entitlements. Partly offsetting these positives were factors such as OPEC quota restrictions, which curtailed production by approximately 35,000 Bbl/d during the quarter. Gains on the production front were offset by lower realized oil and natural gas prices, ...

Highlights include Chevron Corp. (CVX), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), BP plc (BP) and ConocoPhillips (COP).Earlier today, Chevron Corp. (CVX) reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter 2009 recurring EPS of $0.72, significantly below the year-earlier level of $2.48. The reported EPS number of $0.92 included one-time gains on sales of downstream assets totaling $400 million or $0.20 per share, which we exclude from our recurring EPS estimate.Contribution from increased production of crude oil and natural gas due to the start-up of new projects was offset by the sharp decline in commodity prices. This has been a recurring theme in oil company results this quarter, as we saw with Exxon (XOM) yesterday and BP (BP) and ConocoPhillips (COP) earlier.Chevron's total production of crude oil and natural gas increased by 2.5% from the year-earlier level to 2.7 million oil-equivalent barrels per day ...

Highlights include Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP plc (BP) and Apache Corp. (APA).Marathon's (MRO) first-quarter 2009 results came in better than expected on the back of improved downstream margins and lower costs. As has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported, Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and BP (BP), earnings and cash flow comparisons with the year-earlier period were ugly. We continue to like Marathon for its revitalized upstream business, top-tier Midwest-centered refining business, and very cheap valuation.Marathon's recurring EPS of $0.34 was down from $1.07 in the year-earlier period, with the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production and improved refining margins offset by lower realized commodity prices. The company reported production (available for sale) of 429,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), inline with its ...