Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 23.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MRO. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.76.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE MRO traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $27.49. The company had a trading volume of 4,432,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,850,345. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 2.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.34. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of 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 sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 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.