Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MRO traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,032,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,774,473. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 2.22. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day moving average of $25.43. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,246,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,527,000 after acquiring an additional 150,440 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,209,000. Finally, Ardevora Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after purchasing an additional 76,210 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.