Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has increased the target price for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) from $195.00 to $199.00, indicating an 8.49% potential upside from its current price.
• Other firms have also raised their price targets for MPC, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.50.
• Marathon Petroleum recently reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings, posting $3.96 EPS, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue decline of 11.1%.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Raymond James Financial from $195.00 to $199.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Raymond James Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 10.45% from the company's current price.

MPC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.36.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $180.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,500,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,300. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $186.28. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $172.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.13. The company has a market cap of $54.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.97.

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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,692 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 6.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 129,619 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $21,365,000 after acquiring an additional 8,354 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 399,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $66,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,380 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.