Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $170.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on MPC. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler cut 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 report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of MPC opened at $146.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $142.57 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.20 and its 200 day moving average is $165.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations 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 was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.