UBS Group Trims Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Target Price to $28.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an equal weight rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $27.93 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.58. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after buying an additional 3,795,020 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $63,556,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 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.