Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $187.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $156.91 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 16.48%.

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.