Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a neutral rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $178.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $193.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $104.32 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 20.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 218.5% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 8,131 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 129,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,615,000 after purchasing an additional 5,802 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 40.1% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 54.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 21,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 7,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,009 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in 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.