Is Marathon Petroleum Stock a Good Investment?

Marathon Petroleum Investment Advice

  MPC
To provide specific investment advice or recommendations on Marathon Petroleum Corp stock, we recommend investors consider the following general factors when evaluating Marathon Petroleum Corp. This will help you to make an informed decision on whether to include Marathon Petroleum in one of your diversified portfolios:
  • Examine Marathon Petroleum's financial health by looking at its balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Analyze key financial ratios, such as Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Sales (P/S), and Price-to-Book (P/B), to determine whether the stock is fairly valued or over/undervalued.
  • Research Marathon Petroleum's leadership team and their track record. Good management can help Marathon Petroleum navigate difficult times and make strategic decisions that benefit shareholders and increases its net worth.
  • Consider the overall health of the Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing space and any emerging trends that could impact Marathon Petroleum's business and its evolving consumer preferences.
  • Compare Marathon Petroleum's performance and market position to its competitors. Analyze how Marathon Petroleum is positioned in terms of product offerings, innovation, and market share.
  • Check if Marathon Petroleum pays a dividend and its dividend yield and payout ratio.
  • Review what financial analysts are saying about Marathon Petroleum's stock and their price targets. However, remember that analysts' opinions can vary, and their predictions may not always be accurate.
It's important to note that investing in Marathon Petroleum Corp stock, carries risks, and you should carefully consider your investment goals and risk tolerance before making any investment decisions. Also, remember that it's important for investors to have a long-term perspective and a well-diversified portfolio to manage the impact of stock market volatility on their investments. Below is a detailed guide on how to decide if Marathon Petroleum Corp is a good investment.
 
Sell
 
Buy
Hold
Macroaxis provides trade recommendations on Marathon Petroleum Corp to complement and cross-verify current analyst consensus on Marathon Petroleum. Our advice engine determines the firm's potential to grow exclusively from the perspective of an investor's current risk tolerance and investing horizon. To make sure Marathon Petroleum Corp is not overpriced, please verify all Marathon Petroleum Corp fundamentals, including its price to sales, debt to equity, number of employees, as well as the relationship between the net income and short ratio . Given that Marathon Petroleum Corp has a price to earning of 5.62 X, we recommend you to check Marathon Petroleum market performance and probability of bankruptcy to ensure the company can sustain itself in the current economic cycle given your last-minute risk tolerance and investing horizon.

Market Performance

Very WeakDetails

Volatility

Very steadyDetails

Hype Condition

StaleDetails

Current Valuation

UndervaluedDetails

Odds Of Distress

LowDetails

Economic Sensitivity

Responds to the marketDetails

Investor Sentiment

ExcitedDetails

Analyst Consensus

BuyDetails

Financial Strenth (F Score)

StrongDetails

Financial Leverage

Not RatedDetails

Reporting Quality (M-Score)

Unlikely ManipulatorDetails

Examine Marathon Petroleum Stock

Researching Marathon Petroleum's stock involves analyzing various aspects of the company and its industry to make an informed investment decision. The key areas to focus on are fundamentals, business model and competitive advantage. It is also important to analyze trends in revenue, net income, and cash flow, as well as key financial ratios, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and debt-to-equity (D/E). About 77.0% of the company shares are owned by institutional investors. The book value of Marathon Petroleum was now reported as 56.16. The company has Price/Earnings To Growth (PEG) ratio of 2.43. Marathon Petroleum Corp recorded earning per share (EPS) of 10.09. The entity last dividend was issued on the 19th of February 2025. The firm had 2:1 split on the 11th of June 2015.
To determine if Marathon Petroleum is a good investment, evaluating the company's potential for future growth is also very important. This may include expanding into new markets, launching new products or services, or improving operational efficiency. Companies with strong growth prospects can be more attractive investments. This aspect of the research should be conducted in the context of the overall market and industry in which the company operates and should include an analysis of growth potential, competitive landscape, and any regulatory or economic factors that could impact the business. Some of the essential points regarding Marathon Petroleum's research are outlined below:
Marathon Petroleum had very high historical volatility over the last 90 days
Marathon Petroleum has a strong financial position based on the latest SEC filings
Over 77.0% of the company shares are owned by institutional investors
On 10th of March 2025 Marathon Petroleum paid $ 0.91 per share dividend to its current shareholders
Latest headline from thelincolnianonline.com: Rehmann Capital Advisory Group Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co.

Marathon Petroleum Quarterly Cash And Short Term Investments

3.21 Billion

Marathon Petroleum uses earnings reports to provide investors with an update of all three financial statements, including the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Therefore, it is also crucial when considering investing in Marathon Petroleum Corp. Every quarterly earnings report provides investors with an overview of sales, expenses, and net income for the most recent period. It also may provide a comparison to Marathon Petroleum's previous reporting period. The quarterly earnings reports are usually disseminated to the public via Form 10-Q, which is a legal document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission every quarter.
30th of January 2024
Upcoming Quarterly Report
View
7th of May 2024
Next Financial Report
View
31st of December 2023
Next Fiscal Quarter End
View
30th of January 2024
Next Fiscal Year End
View
30th of September 2023
Last Quarter Report
View
31st of December 2022
Last Financial Announcement
View
Earnings surprises can significantly impact Marathon Petroleum's stock price both in the short term and over time. Negative earnings surprises usually result in a price decline. However, it has been seen that positive earnings surprises lead to an immediate rise in a stock's price and a gradual increase over time. This is why we often hear news about some companies beating earning projections. Financial analysts spend a large amount of time predicting earnings per share (EPS) along with other important future indicators. Many analysts use forecasting models, management guidance, and additional fundamental information to derive an EPS estimate. Below are the table of largest EPS Surprises Marathon Petroleum's investors have experienced.
Reported
Fiscal Date
Estimated EPS
Reported EPS
Surprise
2020-05-05
2020-03-31-0.21-0.160.0523 
2012-02-01
2011-12-31-0.03-0.1-0.07233 
2016-04-28
2016-03-310.150.06-0.0960 
2016-07-28
2016-06-300.971.070.110 
2016-02-03
2015-12-310.690.790.114 
2017-04-27
2017-03-31-0.050.060.11220 
2014-05-01
2014-03-310.520.41-0.1121 
2018-04-30
2018-03-310.160.04-0.1275 

Marathon Petroleum Target Price Consensus

Marathon target price is determined by taking all analyst projections and averaging them out. There is no one specific way to measure analysts' performance other than comparing it to past results via a very sophisticated attribution analysis. Marathon Petroleum's target price projections below should be used in combination with other traditional price prediction techniques such as stock price forecasting, investor sentiment analysis, technical analysis, earnings estimate, and various momentum models.
   19  Buy
Most Marathon analysts issue ratings four times a year, at intervals of three months. Ratings are usually accompanied by a target price to help potential investors understand Marathon stock's fair price compared to its market value. Analysts arrive at stock ratings after researching the public financial statements of Marathon Petroleum Corp, talking to its executives and customers, or listening to those companies' conference calls.
Macroaxis Advice   Exposure   Valuation

Marathon Petroleum Target Price Projection

Marathon Petroleum's current and average target prices are 141.55 and 156.02, respectively. The current price of Marathon Petroleum is the price at which Marathon Petroleum Corp is currently trading. On the other hand, Marathon Petroleum's target price is what analysts think the stock is worth or could sell for in the future. The more significant the discrepancy between the two prices, the more it stimulates investors to act.

Current Price

Marathon Petroleum Market Quote on 3rd of May 2025

Low Price137.31Odds
High Price142.17Odds

141.55

Target Price

Analyst Consensus On Marathon Petroleum Target Price

Low Estimate141.98Odds
High Estimate173.18Odds

156.0179

Historical Lowest Forecast  141.98 Target Price  156.02 Highest Forecast  173.18
Note that most analysts generally publish their price targets in research reports on specific companies, along with recommendations for the company's stock.Although price targets are often quoted in the financial news media, there could be a delay between the publication of the latest analyst outlook on Marathon Petroleum Corp and the information provided on this page.

Marathon Petroleum Analyst Ratings

Marathon Petroleum's analyst stock recommendations are determined by taking an average estimate of all analysts we track and classifying them as Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Strong Sell, or Sell. Ratings generally communicate what analysts sense about Marathon Petroleum stock, and they use a lot of effort and time to analyze it and arrive at a rating. That suggests that analyst recommendations are the outcome of an objective and thorough examination of Marathon Petroleum's financials, market performance, and future outlook by experienced professionals. Marathon Petroleum's historical ratings below, therefore, can serve as a valuable tool for investors.

Know Marathon Petroleum's Top Institutional Investors

Have you ever been surprised when a price of an equity instrument such as Marathon Petroleum is soaring high without any particular reason? This is usually happening because many institutional investors are aggressively trading Marathon Petroleum Corp backward and forwards among themselves. Marathon Petroleum's institutional investor refers to the entity that pools money to purchase Marathon Petroleum's securities or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial and private banks, credit unions, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, endowments, and mutual funds. Operating companies that invest excess capital in these types of assets may also be included in the term and may influence corporate governance by exercising voting rights in their investments.
Shares
Raymond James & Associates2024-09-30
3.9 M
Pacer Advisors, Inc.2024-12-31
3.6 M
Boston Partners Global Investors, Inc2024-12-31
3.4 M
Amvescap Plc.2024-12-31
3.4 M
Fmr Inc2024-12-31
3.3 M
Norges Bank2024-12-31
3.3 M
Goldman Sachs Group Inc2024-12-31
2.9 M
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.2024-12-31
2.9 M
Amundi2024-12-31
2.8 M
Vanguard Group Inc2024-12-31
31.1 M
Blackrock Inc2024-12-31
24.8 M
Note, although Marathon Petroleum's institutional investors appear to be way more sophisticated than retail investors, it remains unclear if professional active investment managers can reliably enhance risk-adjusted returns by an amount that exceeds fees and expenses.

Marathon Petroleum's market capitalization trends

The company currently falls under 'Large-Cap' category with a total capitalization of 42.9 B.

Market Cap

33.98 Billion

Marathon Petroleum's profitablity analysis

Last ReportedProjected for Next Year
Return On Tangible Assets 0.05  0.06 
Return On Capital Employed 0.12  0.14 
Return On Assets 0.04  0.06 
Return On Equity 0.19  0.12 
The company has Net Profit Margin of 0.02 %, which implies that it may need a different competitive strategy as even a very small decline in it revenue may erase profits and result in a net loss. This is way below average. In the same way, it shows Net Operating Margin of 0.03 %, which entails that for every 100 dollars of revenue, it generated $0.03 of operating income.
Determining Marathon Petroleum's profitability involves analyzing its financial statements and using various financial metrics to determine if Marathon Petroleum is a good buy. For example, gross profit margin measures Marathon Petroleum's profitability after accounting for the cost of goods sold, while net profit margin measures profitability after accounting for all expenses. Other important metrics include return on assets, return on equity, and free cash flow. By reviewing multiple sources and metrics, you can gain a complete picture of Marathon Petroleum's profitability and make more informed investment decisions.
Please note, the presentation of Marathon Petroleum's financial position, as portrayed in its financial statements, is often influenced by management's estimates, judgments, and sometimes even manipulations. In the best case, Marathon Petroleum's management is honest, while the outside auditors are strict and uncompromising. Please utilize our Beneish M Score to check the likelihood of Marathon Petroleum's management manipulating its earnings.

Evaluate Marathon Petroleum's management efficiency

Marathon Petroleum Corp has Return on Asset of 0.0437 % which means that on every $100 spent on assets, it made $0.0437 of profit. This is way below average. In the same way, it shows a return on shareholders' equity (ROE) of 0.1813 %, implying that it generated $0.1813 on every 100 dollars invested. Marathon Petroleum's management efficiency ratios could be used to measure how well Marathon Petroleum manages its routine affairs as well as how well it operates its assets and liabilities. At present, Marathon Petroleum's Return On Capital Employed is projected to slightly decrease based on the last few years of reporting. The current year's Return On Assets is expected to grow to 0.06, whereas Return On Equity is forecasted to decline to 0.12. At present, Marathon Petroleum's Other Assets are projected to increase significantly based on the last few years of reporting. The current year's Intangible Assets is expected to grow to about 3.1 B, whereas Total Assets are forecasted to decline to about 60 B.
Last ReportedProjected for Next Year
Book Value Per Share 71.70  75.29 
Tangible Book Value Per Share 47.58  25.70 
Enterprise Value Over EBITDA 8.08  6.50 
Price Book Value Ratio 2.69  1.44 
Enterprise Value Multiple 8.08  6.50 
Price Fair Value 2.69  1.44 
Enterprise Value65.9 B41.5 B
Effective leadership at Marathon Petroleum drives its competitive edge in the market. Our analysis focuses on how this translates to financial performance and stock value.
Dividend Yield
0.0265
Forward Dividend Yield
0.0265
Forward Dividend Rate
3.64
Beta
1.018

Basic technical analysis of Marathon Stock

As of the 3rd of May, Marathon Petroleum secures the Mean Deviation of 2.15, standard deviation of 3.19, and Risk Adjusted Performance of (0.02). In connection with fundamental indicators, the technical analysis model lets you check existing technical drivers of Marathon Petroleum Corp, as well as the relationship between them.

Marathon Petroleum's insider trading activities

Some recent studies suggest that insider trading raises the cost of capital for securities issuers and decreases overall economic growth. Trading by specific Marathon Petroleum insiders, such as employees or executives, is commonly permitted as long as it does not rely on Marathon Petroleum's material information that is not in the public domain. Local jurisdictions usually require such trading to be reported in order to monitor insider transactions. In many U.S. states, trading conducted by corporate officers, key employees, directors, or significant shareholders must be reported to the regulator or publicly disclosed, usually within a few business days of the trade. In these cases Marathon Petroleum insiders are required to file a Form 4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when buying or selling shares of their own companies.

Marathon Petroleum's Outstanding Corporate Bonds

Marathon Petroleum issues bonds to finance its operations. Corporate bonds make up one of the largest components of the U.S. bond market, which is considered the world's largest securities market. Marathon Petroleum Corp uses the proceeds from bond sales for a wide variety of purposes, including financing ongoing mergers and acquisitions, buying new equipment, investing in research and development, buying back their own stock, paying dividends to shareholders, and even refinancing existing debt. Most Marathon bonds can be classified according to their maturity, which is the date when Marathon Petroleum Corp has to pay back the principal to investors. Maturities can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term (more than ten years). Longer-term bonds usually offer higher interest rates but may entail additional risks.

Understand Marathon Petroleum's technical and predictive indicators

Using predictive indicators to make investment decisions involves analyzing Marathon Petroleum's various financial and market-based factors to help forecast future trends and identify investment opportunities. Select the indicators that are most relevant to your investment strategy. Each indicator has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's essential to combine multiple indicators to get a more comprehensive view of the market and reduce the risk of making poor decisions based on limited data.

Consider Marathon Petroleum's intraday indicators

Marathon Petroleum intraday indicators are useful technical analysis tools used by many experienced traders. Just like the conventional technical analysis, daily indicators help intraday investors to analyze the price movement with the timing of Marathon Petroleum stock daily movement. By combining multiple daily indicators into a single trading strategy, you can limit your risk while still earning strong returns on your managed positions.

Marathon Petroleum Corporate Filings

8K
2nd of May 2025
Report filed with the SEC to announce major events that shareholders should know about
ViewVerify
30th of April 2025
Other Reports
ViewVerify
F4
3rd of April 2025
The report filed by a party regarding the acquisition or disposition of a company's common stock, as well as derivative securities such as options, warrants, and convertible securities
ViewVerify
17th of March 2025
Other Reports
ViewVerify
Marathon Petroleum time-series forecasting models is one of many Marathon Petroleum's stock analysis techniques aimed to predict future share value based on previously observed values. Time-series forecasting models ae widely used for non-stationary data. Non-stationary data are called the data whose statistical properties e.g. the mean and standard deviation are not constant over time but instead, these metrics vary over time. These non-stationary Marathon Petroleum's historical data is usually called time-series. Some empirical experimentation suggests that the statistical forecasting models outperform the models based exclusively on fundamental analysis to predict the direction of the market movement and maximize returns from investment trading.

Marathon Stock media impact

There is far too much social signal, news, headlines, and media speculation about Marathon Petroleum that are available to investors today. This information is accessible both publicly - through Marathon Petroleum's media outlets and privately, via word of mouth or internal channels. However, regardless of the source, the sheer volume of Marathon-related data is difficult to distill into actionable insights, especially for investors who are not well-versed in the rapidly evolving tools and techniques of investment management.
A primary focus of Marathon Petroleum news analysis is to determine if its current price reflects all relevant headlines and social signals impacting the current market conditions. A news analyst typically looks at the history of Marathon Petroleum relative headlines and hype rather than examining external drivers such as technical or fundamental data. It is believed that price action tends to repeat itself due to investors' collective, patterned thinking related to Marathon Petroleum's headlines and news coverage data. This data is often completely overlooked or insufficiently analyzed for actionable insights to drive Marathon Petroleum alpha.

Marathon Petroleum Sentiment by Major News Outlets

Investor sentiment, mood or attitude towards Marathon Petroleum can have a significant impact on its stock price or the market as a whole. This sentiment can be positive or negative, and various factors, such as economic indicators, news events, or market trends, can influence it. When investor sentiment is positive, investors are more likely to buy stocks, increasing demand and increasing the stock price. Positive investor sentiment can be driven by good news about the company or the broader market, such as solid earnings reports or positive economic data.
Note that negative investor sentiment can cause investors to sell stocks, leading to a decrease in demand and a drop in the stock price. Negative sentiment can be driven by factors such as poor earnings reports, negative news about the company or industry, or broader economic concerns. It's important to note that investor sentiment is just one of many factors that can affect stock prices. Other factors, such as company performance, industry trends, and global economic conditions, can also play a significant role in determining the value of a stock.

Marathon Petroleum Corp Historical Investor Sentiment

Investor biases related to Marathon Petroleum's public news can be used to forecast risks associated with an investment in Marathon. The trend in average sentiment can be used to explain how an investor holding Marathon can time the market purely based on public headlines and social activities around Marathon Petroleum Corp. Please note that most equities that are difficult to arbitrage are affected by market sentiment the most.
Marathon Petroleum's market sentiment shows the aggregated news analyzed to detect positive and negative mentions from the text and comments. The data is normalized to provide daily scores for Marathon Petroleum and other traded tickers. The bigger the bubble, the more accurate the estimated score. Higher bars for a given day show more participation in the average Marathon Petroleum news discussions. The higher the estimate score, the more favorable the investor's outlook on Marathon Petroleum.

Marathon Petroleum Maximum Pain Price Across July 18th 2025 Option Contracts

Marathon Petroleum's options can also be used to analyze investors' bias and current market sentiment in the context of behavioral finance. For example, Max pain usually refers to a trading concept that asserts that market manipulation can cause the market price of Marathon Petroleum close to the expiration of its current option contract to expire worthlessly. According to most research, about 35% of options are not executed, with roughly 50% traded out before expiration. So, Max pain occurs when market makers reach a net favorable position across all options at a strike price where option holders stand to lose the most money. By contrast, option sellers may reap the most after selling more options than buying, causing them to expire worthlessly. Please continue to view the detailed analysis of Marathon Petroleum's options.

Marathon Petroleum Corporate Directors

Evan BayhNon-Executive Independent DirectorProfile
Kim RuckerNon-Executive Independent DirectorProfile
Frank SempleNon-Executive Independent DirectorProfile
Geri EwingDirector InsuranceProfile
When determining whether Marathon Petroleum Corp offers a strong return on investment in its stock, a comprehensive analysis is essential. The process typically begins with a thorough review of Marathon Petroleum's financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, to assess its financial health. Key financial ratios are used to gauge profitability, efficiency, and growth potential of Marathon Petroleum Corp Stock. Outlined below are crucial reports that will aid in making a well-informed decision on Marathon Petroleum Corp Stock:
Check out Correlation Analysis to better understand how to build diversified portfolios, which includes a position in Marathon Petroleum Corp. Also, note that the market value of any company could be closely tied with the direction of predictive economic indicators such as signals in american community survey.
You can also try the Odds Of Bankruptcy module to get analysis of equity chance of financial distress in the next 2 years.
Is Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing space expected to grow? Or is there an opportunity to expand the business' product line in the future? Factors like these will boost the valuation of Marathon Petroleum. If investors know Marathon will grow in the future, the company's valuation will be higher. The financial industry is built on trying to define current growth potential and future valuation accurately. All the valuation information about Marathon Petroleum listed above have to be considered, but the key to understanding future value is determining which factors weigh more heavily than others.
Quarterly Earnings Growth
(0.70)
Dividend Share
3.47
Earnings Share
10.09
Revenue Per Share
409.812
Quarterly Revenue Growth
(0.09)
The market value of Marathon Petroleum Corp is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of Marathon that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of Marathon Petroleum's value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is Marathon Petroleum's true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because Marathon Petroleum's market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect Marathon Petroleum's underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
In summary, please note that there is a difference between Marathon Petroleum's value and its price, as these two are different measures arrived at by various means. Investors typically determine if Marathon Petroleum is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, Marathon Petroleum's price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.