Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) PT Raised to $30.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price objective upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.50 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRO. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.68.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.28 and a 200-day moving average of $25.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $29.56.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Oil

Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company also produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.