Brokerages Set Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Price Target at $31.87

Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.76.

Several research firms recently commented on MRO. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in 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 buying an additional 3,795,020 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 328,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in Marathon Oil by 10.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,741,000 after acquiring an additional 593,100 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.53. The company has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.