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

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $180.00 to $189.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 4.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MPC. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.92.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $181.08 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $201.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.12 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by 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.