The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $30.00

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

MRO has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.68.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.21. Marathon Oil has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $29.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40.

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

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. 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. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 37,228 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

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.