Scotiabank Expects Reduced Earnings for Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) - Research analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2025 EPS estimates for Marathon Petroleum in a report released on Sunday, April 13th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now expects that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $8.00 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $8.45. Scotiabank has a "Sector Outperform" rating and a $147.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Marathon Petroleum's current full-year earnings is $8.47 per share.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.98 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.79.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded up $3.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,387,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,115. The business has a 50 day moving average of $140.81 and a 200-day moving average of $147.59. The company has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $201.36.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.8% during the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,713,595 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $686,724,000 after buying an additional 536,462 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $377,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,006 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.