StockNews.com Lowers Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

MPC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $192.23.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $171.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $108.88 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.47 and a 200-day moving average of $174.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 19.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors 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.