BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.28% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MPC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.19.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MPC stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $204.02. 765,572 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,999. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $206.45. The company has a market cap of $61.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $177.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 103.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 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.