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

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its price target dropped by Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.47% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.15.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $27.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.