Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $141.00 to $159.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:MPC opened at $163.64 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $354,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 40.9% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 32,993 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after acquiring an additional 9,579 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 56,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 18.3% during the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Finally, Southeast Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $222,000. 76.77% of the stock is 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.