Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Susquehanna

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)‘s stock had its “positive” rating restated by research analysts at Susquehanna in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $33.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.62% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRO. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $27.82 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.44 and its 200-day moving average is $25.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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 was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 102,974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,918,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.