Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Declares $1.00 Quarterly Dividend

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of 1.00 per share by the oil and gas company on Thursday, September 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th.

Marathon Petroleum has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Marathon Petroleum has a dividend payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to earn $32.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.2%.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $309.09 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $158.00 and a 12 month high of $326.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 43.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $344.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.69.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.