Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $174.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as low as $142.53 and last traded at $143.94, with a volume of 392154 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $145.56.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $153.96 and its 200 day moving average is $164.40. The stock has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.