JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $30.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $33.00 to $30.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Marathon Oil from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday. They set a buy rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $29.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.87.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $26.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.47.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $468,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $383,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,582,000 after buying an additional 328,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,741,000 after buying an additional 593,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.