Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Marathon Petroleum and Murphy Oil”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Marathon Petroleum | $135.22 billion | 1.03 | $4.05 billion | $29.09 | 16.44 |
| Murphy Oil | $2.72 billion | 2.06 | $104.23 million | $2.02 | 19.32 |
Volatility & Risk
Marathon Petroleum has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Marathon Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Murphy Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marathon Petroleum pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Murphy Oil pays out 69.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Marathon Petroleum has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Murphy Oil has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Murphy Oil is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
76.8% of Marathon Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Marathon Petroleum shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Marathon Petroleum and Murphy Oil, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Marathon Petroleum | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2.76 |
| Murphy Oil | 3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.07 |
Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus target price of $417.88, indicating a potential downside of 12.65%. Murphy Oil has a consensus target price of $39.45, indicating a potential upside of 1.08%. Given Murphy Oil’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than Marathon Petroleum.
Profitability
This table compares Marathon Petroleum and Murphy Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Marathon Petroleum | 5.48% | 31.96% | 8.88% |
| Murphy Oil | 9.74% | 6.63% | 3.51% |
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. Its refined products include transportation fuels, such as reformulated gasolines and blend-grade gasolines; heavy fuel oil; and asphalt. This segment also manufactures propane and petrochemicals. It sells refined products to wholesale marketing customers in the United States and internationally, buyers on the spot market, and independent entrepreneurs who operate primarily Marathon branded outlets, as well as through long-term fuel supply contracts to direct dealer locations primarily under the ARCO brand. The Midstream segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil and refined products through refining logistics assets, pipelines, terminals, towboats, and barges; gathers, processes, and transports natural gas; and gathers, transports, fractionates, stores, and markets natural gas liquids. Marathon Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio.
About Murphy Oil
Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Receive News & Ratings for Marathon Petroleum Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Marathon Petroleum and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
