Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target Cut to $28.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price objective lowered by analysts at UBS Group from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.04% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,299,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,477,958. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 374.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 58,081 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 304,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,353,000 after acquiring an additional 175,964 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,051,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter worth $6,837,000. 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.