The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $204.00 to $211.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.81% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MPC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.88.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC traded up $7.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $203.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,315,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,685. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $204.37. The company has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $177.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $39,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.