Barclays Maintains an 'Overweight' on Marathon Petroleum (MPC); Analyst Meeting - Strong Free Cash Flow + Flexible Refining & Logistics System

Barclays maintains an 'Overweight' on Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) price target of $51.00.

Barclays analyst says, "Marathon Petroleum hosted a well-attended investor meeting in New York yesterday (11/30). There was no meaningful news from management, which we think could be viewed as a slight negative as investors were looking for additional clarity on the company's free cash usage (no mention of a special dividend or buyback) and may be concerned by the lower 4Q11 QTD sweet/sour differential indicator compared to last year. For every $1/bl move in the sweet/sour spread, MPC estimates a $150
million annual after-tax impact to earnings...We continue to believe that MPC offers a good investment opportunity for investors in light of its strong earnings power and free cash generating capability."

Barcalys lowers FY11 EPS estimate from $8.20 to $8.15 and FY12 from $4.95 to $4.60.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Marathon Petroleum click here. For more ratings news on Marathon Petroleum click here.

Shares of Marathon Petroleum closed at $33.39 yesterday.

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