Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target Raised to $27.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Benchmark raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an overweight rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.32. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,341,531 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,213,856,000 after purchasing an additional 392,821 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $748,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,754 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $315,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,062 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $219,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,091,570 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.