Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.07.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $157.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.23 and its 200 day moving average is $168.73. The company has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $912,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,713,000 after acquiring an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.