Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) PT Lowered to $191.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price dropped by analysts at Scotiabank from $207.00 to $191.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.44% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MPC. StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MPC stock traded up $1.17 on Friday, reaching $165.46. 2,256,447 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,692,839. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $117.28 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $174.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.75.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 16.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.