Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.34 EPS

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34, FiscalAI reports. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:MPC opened at $176.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $202.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.74.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Zacks Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.19.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ossiam bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $68,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.8% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $151,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.