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

Key Points

• Scotiabank has raised its price target for Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $189.00, maintaining a "sector outperform" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 0.57% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts have also increased their price targets, with Wells Fargo raising it to $205.00 and UBS Group to $220.00, reflecting strong market sentiment towards the company.
• Marathon Petroleum reported earnings of $3.96 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showcasing resilience despite an 11.1% drop in revenue compared to the previous year.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $180.00 to $189.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector outperform" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Scotiabank's price target indicates a potential upside of 0.57% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.92.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MPC traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $187.94. 186,980 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,491,615. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average price is $178.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.01. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $201.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,456,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,713 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,722,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,013,213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,325,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,645 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,163,737 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,024,395,000 after purchasing an additional 715,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 6,037,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $879,608,000 after purchasing an additional 355,215 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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