Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.15.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $27.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.67. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 374.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 58,081 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,051,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,837,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 715,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,285,000 after acquiring an additional 117,061 shares during the last quarter. 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.