Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 18th

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.00 per share by the oil and gas company on Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th.

Marathon Petroleum has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Marathon Petroleum has a payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marathon Petroleum to earn $11.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.6%.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.7%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $203.33 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.26. Marathon Petroleum has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $210.32. The stock has a market cap of $61.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 14.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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, February 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $211.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.19.

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.