Marathon Petroleum Co. to Post Q3 2023 Earnings of $5.05 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:MPC)

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report issued on Wednesday, September 6th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now expects that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $5.05 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.61. The consensus estimate for Marathon Petroleum’s current full-year earnings is $21.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Marathon Petroleum’s FY2023 earnings at $19.30 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.39 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $12.85 EPS and Q1 2025 earnings at $6.56 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MPC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $132.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $133.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $150.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $60.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.62. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $89.40 and a 1 year high of $151.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.78.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.77. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 36.33%. The business had revenue of $36.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 32.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $458,859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,939,174 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $190,449,000 after buying an additional 2,217,443 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17,187.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,899,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $283,046,000 after buying an additional 1,888,589 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 571.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,048,619 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,598 shares in the last quarter. 74.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $713,662.38. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Gregory Scott Floerke sold 8,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.80, for a total value of $1,193,956.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 28,633 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,691.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $713,662.38. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,188 shares of company stock valued at $3,890,973 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.89%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.