Bank of America Begins Coverage on Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) in a research report released on Thursday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $174.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.38. The company has a market capitalization of $55.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.4% during the first quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 263.2% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $261,000. 76.77% of the stock is 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.