Brokerages Set Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Target Price at $31.50

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.68.

MRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.34 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.11. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $29.56.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during 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 buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.