Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $170.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “in-line” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.32% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MPC. Wolfe Research cut Marathon Petroleum from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.50.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MPC opened at $185.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $186.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.57. The stock has a market cap of $56.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.97.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The business had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 38,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,692,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 8,008 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.