Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Receives $32.66 Average Price Target from Analysts

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.66.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.34. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, 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 $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 92.6% during the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.