Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Shares Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) shares dropped 4.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $135.66 and last traded at $136.43. Approximately 352,305 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,776,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $582,710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,151,722 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $453,427,000. Boston Partners increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after acquiring an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $114,107,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.