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RGC Resources Inc. (RGCO) shares ended the last trading session 6.5% higher at $21.17. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 4.2% loss over the past four weeks.

RGC Resources stock rose for the second straight day, driven by optimism over the firm’s involvement in the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. The pipeline, in which RGC Resources owns a 1% interest, recently began operations. The conduit is designed to transport up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in West Virginia to markets along the East Coast. The positive developments surrounding the pipeline and improvement in commodity prices contributed to the strength in RGC Resources, a regulated natural gas utility.

This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to be $14 million, up 2.5% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For RGC Resources, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on RGCO going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

RGC Resources belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry. Another stock from the same industry, Phillips 66 (PSX), closed the last trading session 2.2% higher at $136.92. Over the past month, PSX has returned -1.5%.

For Phillips 66, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -15.1% over the past month to $3.52. This represents a change of -9% from what the company reported a year ago. Phillips 66 currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

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