Morgan Stanley Raises Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $26.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.68.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 2.2 %

MRO traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.31. The company had a trading volume of 7,712,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,883,961. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $29.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.09.

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 245,238 shares of company stock worth $6,646,904 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,246,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $125,527,000 after acquiring an additional 150,440 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,235,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 222.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 67,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 46,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 849,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,718,000 after buying an additional 71,988 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.