Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $170.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. Marathon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $202.29.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Associated Banc Corp lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% in the second quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.