Zacks Research Upgrades Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) to Strong-Buy

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MPC. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.75.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $232.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.61. Marathon Petroleum has a 12-month low of $115.42 and a 12-month high of $255.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $68.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,717,054.50. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 20.1% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $8,505,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

More Marathon Petroleum News

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded MPC from “hold” to “strong-buy,” which increases buy‑side interest and may support further inflows. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $255 and kept an “outperform” rating, implying near‑term upside vs. the current level and giving funds a rationale to increase exposure. BMO Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: MPC made Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) value stocks list, highlighting it as a top value pick and increasing visibility to retail and model‑based investors. Zacks Value List
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note MPC (and peer Valero) have staged strong recoveries; commentary debates whether momentum continues, which keeps volatility possible in either direction. Surge Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative performance pieces show MPC outperforming many energy peers year‑to‑date, supporting the view of sector leadership but also raising expectations that could amplify moves on news. Outperformance Article
• Negative Sentiment: MPC shares fell during a session when the wider market rose; headlines flagged a notable decline in the latest trading session, which can trigger stop‑losses and short‑term technical selling. Session Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary point to the US‑Iran ceasefire news as reducing geopolitical risk — a catalyst that pressured several energy names (including refiners) today by easing crude price fears and compressing near‑term margin expectations. Ceasefire Impact

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.