Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Marathon Petroleum from $210 to $243 while keeping a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 9.7% upside from the prior close.
• Other brokers have also lifted targets and ratings (e.g., BMO $255/outperform, Goldman $264/buy, Scotiabank strong-buy), leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $232.88.
• Marathon beat quarterly expectations with $4.07 EPS vs. $3.73 expected and revenue of $32.57B vs. $30.89B, bolstering positive analyst sentiment.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Citigroup from $210.00 to $243.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Citigroup's price target points to a potential upside of 9.68% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MPC. Scotiabank upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Petroleum from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $239.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.88.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $221.55 on Friday. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $217.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.81. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $117.74 and a 52-week high of $255.77. The firm has a market cap of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.58.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,916,660,000 after buying an additional 47,896 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $472,312,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,818,361 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $458,350,000 after purchasing an additional 11,693 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,600,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $422,869,000 after purchasing an additional 67,600 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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