Wells Fargo & Company Trims Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Target Price to $27.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Capital One Financial lowered Marathon Oil from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Nine research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.09.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.44 and a 200-day moving average of $27.69.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business 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 was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 113,952 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,035,000 after acquiring an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $1,588,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at about $1,413,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Marathon Oil by 15.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 144,674 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,148,000 after buying an additional 19,592 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.