Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) PT Raised to $34.00 at Piper Sandler

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an overweight rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.64 on Friday. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.38.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 184.4% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 295,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after acquiring an additional 191,776 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 25.2% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at $1,299,000. 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.