Short Interest in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Rises By 15.7%

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,960,000 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the November 15th total of 6,880,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,965,000 after buying an additional 72,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $138.22 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum has a 12 month low of $137.89 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.67.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.