Wall Street Zen Upgrades Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) to Strong-Buy

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MPC. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.19.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.4%

MPC opened at $251.91 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $252.83. The company has a market cap of $74.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.67 and a 200 day moving average of $192.28.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.