DINO - Marathon Petroleum cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan after strong three-year run

2023-03-28 12:38:17 ET

Marathon Petroleum ( NYSE: MPC ) was downgraded Tuesday at J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight with a $149 price target on valuation, as the stock has been the top performer among oil refiners since the start of the pandemic, driven by a combination of solid execution and the well-executed Speedway sale.

JPM analyst John Royall believes Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) is executing well and has continued potential to aggressively return capital even in a refining downturn, but he sees slightly below-average upside potential relative to the group average.

With a $10B cash balance buffer that can be utilized for share buybacks in excess of free cash flow, Marathon ( MPC ) should be able to aggressively return capital to shareholders in the medium term.

Royall also rates refiners PBF Energy ( PBF ), Phillips 66 ( PSX ) and Valero Energy ( VLO ) at Overweight; HF Sinclair ( DINO ) and Par Pacific ( PARR ) at Neutral; and CVR Energy ( CVI ) and Delek US ( DK ) at Underweight.

Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) stock is trading near record highs and is now "vulnerable to a large and painful selloff," DT Analysis writes in a report posted recently on Seeking Alpha .

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