Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Cut to $185.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MPC. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $174.79 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.71 and a 200 day moving average of $175.96. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $112.82 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.