TD Cowen Cuts Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Price Target to $170.00

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $174.00 to $170.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MPC. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $153.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in 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. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,537,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 10,902.9% during the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,110,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $223,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100,536 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after acquiring an additional 621,336 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.