Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $199.7857.

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.9%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $180.98 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $202.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $54.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.56.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%.The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 42.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 103.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.