The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $30.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.50 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $31.68.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 2.3 %

MRO stock opened at $28.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $29.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.12.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRO. TradeLink Capital LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $781,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 160,065 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 10,388 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 187,679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after acquiring an additional 12,859 shares in the last quarter. 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.