Analysts Set Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Price Target at $33.88

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.88.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRO shares. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Thursday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Marathon Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,341,531 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,213,856,000 after purchasing an additional 392,821 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,822,250 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $400,698,000 after buying an additional 421,238 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,050,291 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $203,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $219,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,091,570 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 60.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,739,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $194,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904,140 shares in the last quarter. 77.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $25.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.89, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 2.38. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $19.42 and a twelve month high of $33.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.39.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 44.95% and a return on equity of 27.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 14th. This is an increase from Marathon Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 7.71%.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

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Marathon Oil Corp. engages in the exploration, production, and marketing of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas. It operates through the following two segments: United States (U. S.) and International. The U. S. segment engages in oil and gas exploration, development and production activities in the U.S.