Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

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

MRO has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.76.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.4 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.50 on Friday. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $30.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.35.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.