A portfolio of stocks I've been building since September 3, 2019, named Volio, will eventually hold 52 dividend dogs. Volio is the fifth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per-week pace) since 2014. Five portfolios = V for Volio!

Today I'm reviewing the fourth of five energy sector stocks primed to join Volio as the third of three representing the sector. One of the stocks I discuss this week could be the forty-seventh overall Volio selection!

My subject today is a large-cap refining and marketing company named, Marathon Petroleum Corp. Its trading ticker is MPC. This is my first report on Marathon ever.

Marathon Petroleum is an independent refiner with 16 refineries in the midcontinent, West Coast, and Gulf Coast of the United States with a total throughput capacity of 3.0 million barrels per day. Its retail segment sells transportation fuels through 6,900 stores operated by independent entrepreneurs in 35 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Mexico. The firm also owns and operates midstream assets primarily through its listed Master Limited Partnership, MPLX.

The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend equities or funds like Marathon Petroleum Corp:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Those three basic keys best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.

MPC Price

Marathon's price per share closed at $38.55 yesterday. A year ago their price was $55.71. Price fell $17.16 or nearly 31% last year.

Assuming Marathon's stock trades in the range of $15 to $45 this next year, its recent $39.14 price might rise by $4.45 to reach $43.00 by July 23, 2021.

MPC Dividends

Marathon's most recent declared quarterly dividend was $0.58, paid May 19th. That $0.58 Q dividend equates to $2.32 annually for a yield of 6.02% at yesterday's $38.55 share price.

MPC Gains?

Adding the $2.32 annual estimated dividend to my $4.45 optimistic estimate of Marathon Petroleum Corp price upside shows a $6.77 potential gross gain, per share, to be reduced by any costs to trade the shares.

If we put little over $1,000.00 today in Marathon Petroleum Corp we would buy 26 shares of MPC stock.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale could cost us about $0.38 per share.

Subtract that $0.38 brokerage cost from my estimated $6.77 gross gain per share results in a net gain of $6.39 X 26 shares = $166.14 for a 16.6% net gain on a $1,002.30 investment.

Thus, Marathon Petroleum Corp shows a possible 16.6% net gain including a 6.02% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.   

The above speculation is based on past performance and supposition. Only time and money invested will tell if Marathon Petroleum Corp is worth it.