Scotiabank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) – Scotiabank lowered their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Marathon Petroleum in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now expects that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $11.55 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $15.20. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Marathon Petroleum’s current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $142.55 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.92.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.