Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum has received a "strong-buy" rating from Wells Fargo & Company, indicating strong confidence in the company's stock performance.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets, with Morgan Stanley raising theirs to $200.00 and BMO Capital Markets to $208.00, showing increasing optimism about the company's future.
• In the most recent quarterly earnings report, Marathon Petroleum reported an EPS of $3.96, significantly beating analysts' expectations of $3.22, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 11.1%.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MPC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.31.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $184.14 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $201.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.76.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is 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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