The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Price

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group raised its target on Marathon Petroleum from $264 to $291 and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 21.76% upside from the current price.
• Multiple brokerages have boosted targets (e.g., TD Cowen $320, Jefferies $279, UBS $285), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $257.25 consensus price target.
• Marathon reported strong quarterly results—EPS of $1.65 vs. $0.74 expected and $34.2B revenue—while shares recently traded near $238.99 and the company carries a market cap of about $70.4 billion.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $264.00 to $291.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.76% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MPC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.25.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $6.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $238.99. 1,189,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,492,917. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week low of $145.28 and a 52-week high of $261.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.34 and a 200 day moving average of $200.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 26.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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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