TD Cowen Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at TD Cowen in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $170.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.45% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MPC stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $152.54. 1,269,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,607,561. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.