StockNews.com Upgrades Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) to "Strong-Buy"

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MPC. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of MPC traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $178.97. 3,856,183 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,796,828. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $104.32 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.76. The company has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 20.49 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 218.5% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,853 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 8,131 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 129,609 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,615,000 after purchasing an additional 5,802 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 40.1% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 54.5% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 21,370 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,234,000 after buying an additional 7,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,009 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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