Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Receives $30.94 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.94.

Several research firms have weighed in on MRO. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 664,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,686,000 after buying an additional 34,503 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 94.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,882,000 after buying an additional 278,463 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $334,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.88%.

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.