FINDLAY, Ohio, Jan. 30, 2013 - Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) announced today that its board of directors has approved an additional $2 billion share repurchase authorization. The board also extended the remaining $650 million share repurchase authorization announced on Feb. 1, 2012, for a total outstanding authorization of $2.65 billion through December 2014. MPC may utilize various methods to effect the repurchases, which could include open market repurchases, negotiated block transactions, accelerated share repurchases or open market solicitations for shares, some of which may be effected through Rule 10b5-1 plans. The timing of repurchases will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, and repurchases may be discontinued at any time.
The board also declared a fourth-quarter dividend of 35 cents per share on Marathon Petroleum Corporation common stock. The dividend is payable March 11, 2013, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Feb. 20, 2013.
"Our focus has remained on returning capital to our shareholders while continuing to make value enhancing investments in the company. Our strong financial position and operating cash flow enabled us to increase our dividend by 40 percent in 2012 and to execute two accelerated share repurchase programs totaling $1.35 billion. Today's announcement builds upon our continuing commitment to our shareholders," said MPC President and CEO Gary R. Heminger.
Billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens added oil and gas producers Newfield Exploration Co., Marathon Oil Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. to his energy fund’s holdings during the fourth quarter. Pickens’s Dallas-based BP Capital Management LP bought 211,703 shares of Newfield valued at $5.7 million, 184,900 shares of Marathon valued at $5.7 million and 63,000 shares of Occidental valued at $4.8 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Last year's solid performance among U.S. refiners was driven primarily by the high WTI-Brent differential, high demand for refined product exports, relatively low energy costs, and a decline in capital spending. Going forward, these trends should continue for at least the next couple of quarters.
This should allow many of the larger refiners, which are generating high amounts of free cash flow, to continue returning cash to shareholders, who are enjoying the trend of dividend increases and share buybacks.
“Property stands for long term value. It usually generates predictable cash-flow and is a good hedge against inflation. Listed property is good for investors since it is both liquid and offers transparent pricing.”
Here is what Valero had to say about the new company’s prospects:
We believe the separated retail business will perform well and unlock value for shareholders for several reasons. First, CST Brands will be the second largest publicly traded independent retailer of fuel and convenience merchandise in North America with nearly 1,900 sites. Second, these sites are located in geographically diverse regions: the southwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Third, many of the 1,032 U.S. retail sites are in Texas and surrounding states, which have strong economic growth. Fourth, CST Brands has substantial ownership of the sites with approximately 60% owned, not leased. Fifth, there’s a long history of strong financial performance and brand recognition. And finally, CST Brands has significant growth opportunities in merchandise, food service, and new-build locations.
Spain's IBEX stock market index has plunged by around 6% this week - the biggest weekly drop in six months. Spanish sovereign bond spreads are flat-lining, entirely ignorant of this devastation; and of course, EURUSD continues to surge. The EUR surge and IBEX plunge coincidentally began at the same time (Wednesday) as Rajoy's alleged kickback scheme was uncovered... oh yeah, and Spain lifted its short-selling ban (oops). Spanish stocks are now red for 2013...
If one lives in California and is fortunate enough to earn over a $1 million annually, the marginal tax rate for this lucky Golden-Stater may now be over 60%, including all income taxes, Medicare taxes, and the new ObamaCare tax of 3.8% on investment income. This does not include taxes for Social Security, property taxes, sales tax, or a host of other taxes.
"The government is now in the business of giving bad advice." Later, he got more specific: "By holding interest rates at zero, the government is basically tricking the population into going long on just about every kind of security except cash, at the price of almost certainly not getting an adequate return for the risks they are running. People can't stand earning 0% on their money, so the government is forcing everyone in the investing public to speculate."
I came up with an investment strategy when I wrote my master of science thesis in finance at Stockholm University School Of Business. While writing on my thesis I also learned about other investment strategies regarding (Stock Repurchase, Value Investing and Insider trading).
I will find stock picks based on this strategies and then analyze them with trading strategies from the famous technical analyst Elder Alexander.
Also let me know if you have any stocks/markets that you like me to analyze.
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