Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.71.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $177.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.74. 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 has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $202.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $180.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Concord Asset Management LLC VA acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $412,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 459.5% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 189,973 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,556,000 after purchasing an additional 156,019 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $685,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,946,000 after buying an additional 11,082 shares during the period. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the second quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 168,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,007,000 after acquiring an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.