Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $190.00 to $192.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “strong-buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 25.96% from the stock’s current price.

MPC has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

MPC traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.44. 723,437 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,673,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.52. The stock has a market cap of $48.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. 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 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.