Piper Sandler Lowers Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $34.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MRO. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MRO traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.99. 5,381,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,969,667. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.36 and its 200-day moving average is $27.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Marathon Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of Marathon Oil 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 transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,369 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $242,582,000 after purchasing an additional 328,184 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Marathon Oil by 10.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $184,741,000 after purchasing an additional 593,100 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $140,274,000 after purchasing an additional 19,566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.