Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.03 EPS

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $1.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $169.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,697,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,235. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $137.57 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.97 and its 200 day moving average is $179.08. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs 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.