Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.19.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $251.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Marathon Petroleum has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $252.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $205.67 and a 200-day moving average of $192.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.69.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $2,891,000. First Interstate Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,050,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,946,000 after acquiring an additional 11,082 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,004,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 849,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $163,688,000 after acquiring an additional 14,308 shares during the period. 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.