Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Given New $222.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has raised its price target for Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.40% from the stock's previous close.
• Marathon Petroleum recently reported an earnings per share of $3.96, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.74, although revenue was down 11.1% year-over-year.
• There is a mixed consensus among analysts with eighteight giving it a Hold rating, yielding an average price target of $189.36.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $184.00 to $222.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Piper Sandler's target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.40% from the stock's previous close.

MPC has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.36.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $182.87. The stock had a trading volume of 130,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,559,532. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.45 and a 200 day moving average of $156.72. The stock has a market cap of $55.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.97. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $186.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,684 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,828 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 21,904 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during 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.

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