Scotiabank Expects Weaker Earnings for Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Marathon Petroleum in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now forecasts that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $8.45 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $11.55. The consensus estimate for Marathon Petroleum’s current full-year earnings is $8.47 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MPC. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.03. The company has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $1,327,000. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $328,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 176,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,828,000 after acquiring an additional 12,331 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $2,037,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.