Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Receives $31.87 Consensus PT from Analysts

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.65.

MRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.89 on Friday. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.53. The company has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 374.5% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 58,081 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 304,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,353,000 after acquiring an additional 175,964 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $5,051,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth $6,837,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.