Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.07.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MPC shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 38.2% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 10,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $335,241,000 after purchasing an additional 117,790 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $962,000. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 8,420 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,258,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,613. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.