Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at TD Cowen

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $174.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.75 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $743,690,000 after purchasing an additional 107,915 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,080,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $620,815,000 after acquiring an additional 31,100 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,390,000 after acquiring an additional 8,476 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $463,160,000 after purchasing an additional 209,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $335,241,000 after purchasing an additional 117,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.