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

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $174.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 5.04% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $210.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $194.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.75.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MPC opened at $221.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $133.00 and a 12 month high of $255.77. The company has a market cap of $65.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 23.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.