Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $368 and closing near $366. Its shares are well above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $17.73 beating estimates by $3.46 and revenue rising 53.5% year over year to $51.99 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 18 ratings, although the average price target of $312.50 is below the current share price. MPC also declared a $1 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.1%.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $368.00 and last traded at $366.00, with a volume of 86023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $363.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $321.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $312.50.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $259.44. The company has a market cap of $106.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,032 shares of company stock valued at $8,744,213 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors 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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