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

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.08.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 347,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,858 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 5,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Visionary Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.0% in the third quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 1,965 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MPC opened at $175.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $61.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $111.27 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 18.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.