Mizuho Lowers Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $174.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Mizuho from $175.00 to $174.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.11% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $137.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $153.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.40. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $136.43 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.