Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.03 EPS

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03, Briefing.com reports. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $169.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,690,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,080. The stock has a market cap of $59.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $137.57 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.08. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.