Truist Financial Lowers Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $35.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price target lowered by Truist Financial from $36.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.61.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 2.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,440,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Marathon Oil by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,527,604 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $61,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,639 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,246,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,527,000 after purchasing an additional 150,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $3,209,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.