BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MPC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.19.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $204.28 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.81 and its 200 day moving average is $181.40. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $206.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 2.99%.The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.