Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Initiates Stock Buyback Plan

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $149.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $161.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.