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

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $184.00.

Several research firms have commented on MPC. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $142.74 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. 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 has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.21.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.