Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.94, but opened at $152.36. Marathon Petroleum shares last traded at $149.06, with a volume of 301,349 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $743,690,000 after purchasing an additional 107,915 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,080,958 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $620,815,000 after purchasing an additional 31,100 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $558,390,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $463,160,000 after buying an additional 209,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $335,241,000 after buying an additional 117,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.