- Oil refiners such as Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC), Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK) and HollyFrontier (NYSE:HFC) are better positioned than the market suggests, Deutsche Bank analysts say.
- The firm thinks current refiner share price levels offer an attractive entry point or to add to positions for longer-term investors, with MPC, DK and HFC screening best with respective 19%, 13% and 8% upside; while from a free cash flow standpoint, only Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), MPC and HFC find themselves in positive territory, offering respective 6.3%, 5% and 1%.
- For shorter-term investors, the firm sees PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF), HFC and DK with the highest downside risk, while MPC is a relative winner in both cases.
- Contrary to popular belief that higher crude prices are all else being equal a negative for refiners, Deutsche Bank believes a slow grind higher to $60-$65/bbl could be a sweet spot for refiners since the structural advantage of U.S. refiners vs. international refining is more pronounced.