BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $230.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.10% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MPC. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.75.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $13.82 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $231.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 238,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,619. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.36. The company has a market cap of $68.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.58. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $115.42 and a 1 year high of $255.77.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, 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 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

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.