Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $462.00 to $466.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MPC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. UBS Group set a $510.00 target price on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $304.00 to $457.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.12.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock traded down $7.59 on Thursday, hitting $385.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,240,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,321. The stock has a market cap of $112.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $421.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marathon Petroleum has a 1 year low of $161.93 and a 1 year high of $493.98.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $26.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $25.37 by $1.56. The company had revenue of $56.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.60 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 58.93%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.01 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 64.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,876,862.38. This trade represents a 36.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $875,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaquero Private Wealth Ltd. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $47,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

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

• Positive Sentiment: MPC reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $26.93, up nearly 795% year over year and above analysts’ consensus. Strong refining margins and record refinery utilization drove results; the company also said renewable diesel turned profitable and expanded its share-buyback plans. Article: MPC Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Refining Margins
• Neutral Sentiment: The company agreed to sell its St. Paul Park and Mandan refineries and related marketing operations to CVR Energy for $4.2 billion, aiming to focus investment on its Gulf Coast business. The transaction provides substantial proceeds but also removes refining assets from MPC’s portfolio; management guided to fourth-quarter throughput of 2.8 million barrels per day. Article: Marathon Petroleum outlines $4.2B Mid-Con divestiture and targets Gulf Coast reinvestment
• Negative Sentiment: MPC fell sharply in the prior session, with reports describing a roughly 7% drop. The listed coverage does not identify a definitive cause, but the selloff indicates investors did not respond positively to the news despite the earnings beat and may be weighing the refinery divestiture or taking profits after a strong run. Article: Marathon Petroleum Drops 7% in a Single Session, Erasing $8 Billion

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) is an American downstream energy company engaged in refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its operations include converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane, and other refined products used by transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.

The company markets fuel under the Marathon brand and supplies products to independent marketers, commercial businesses, and other wholesale customers. Marathon Petroleum also owns a general-partner interest and significant limited-partner interest in MPLX Inc, a midstream company that operates pipelines, storage facilities, terminals, and gathering and processing assets supporting the movement of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Marathon Petroleum’s refining and midstream activities are concentrated in the United States, with assets serving regions across the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.