Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives $185.07 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.07.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.6 %

MPC stock opened at $159.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. 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 has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.