Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $183.73.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $142.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.02. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 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 firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after acquiring an additional 43,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.