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

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $197.69.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $36,823,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $97,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $165.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $169.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.79. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $139.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

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.