Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.90 EPS

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90, Briefing.com reports. 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 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.6 %

MPC traded up $5.40 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,408. The company has a market capitalization of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a PEG 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. Marathon Petroleum has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $161.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.42.

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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.67.

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.