Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $144.94, but opened at $152.36. Marathon Petroleum shares last traded at $149.06, with a volume of 301,349 shares.

The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Bridge Advisors boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 54.8% during the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $26,000. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 23.2% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,809,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38.

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.