Stifel Nicolaus Raises Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target to $38.00

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRO. UBS Group began coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded Marathon Oil from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $33.06.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $23.33 on Tuesday. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $19.42 and a 12 month high of $33.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a PE ratio of 5.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 2.39.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 24.17% and a net margin of 34.22%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Rob L. White sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.85, for a total transaction of $114,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 39,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,010.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $219,828,000 after buying an additional 8,091,570 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1,134.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,457,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $130,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015,428 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,661,473 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291,349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 60.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,739,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $194,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904,140 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 137.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,679,450 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $112,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.30% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Oil

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Marathon Oil Corp. engages in the exploration, production, and marketing of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas. It operates through the following two segments: United States (U. S.) and International. The U. S. segment engages in oil and gas exploration, development and production activities in the U.S.