Tesoro Corporation Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (TSO)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and reasonable valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• TSO's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 3.0%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 6.8%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 121.34% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 111.77% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, TSO should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• TESORO CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, TESORO CORP increased its bottom line by earning $5.25 versus $3.76 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($5.74 versus $5.25).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income increased by 121.8% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$124.00 million to $27.00 million.

Tesoro Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in refining and marketing petroleum products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining and Retail. Tesoro has a market cap of $7.94 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 11, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 27.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full Tesoro Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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