UBS Group Trims Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Target Price to $28.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price decreased by analysts at UBS Group from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 2.04% from the company’s current price.

MRO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MRO stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,299,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,477,958. The company has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 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 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’s 50-day moving average price is $27.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.53.

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $468,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,556,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

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.