Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.91

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of 0.91 per share by the oil and gas company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83.

Marathon Petroleum has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.9% annually over the last three years. Marathon Petroleum has a payout ratio of 36.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to earn $10.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.4%.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $157.52 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.06 and a 200-day moving average of $168.26. 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 $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

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.