The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $30.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.50 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Argus upgraded Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $31.68.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.11. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $29.56. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid 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 1.55%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value 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 valued at $7,644,903 in the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.