Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target Cut to $196.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $223.00 to $196.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.46% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $165.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.02. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $117.28 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 16.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Sitrin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 31,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,515,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 94.4% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 14,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.1% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 38,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,708,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.