Barclays Lowers Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $195.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price reduced by analysts at Barclays from $221.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.78% from the stock’s current price.

MPC has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $180.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $104.32 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.