Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential downside of 2.00% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MRO. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.15.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $27.55. The company had a trading volume of 4,165,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,417,814. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.67. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795,020 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $383,313,000 after buying an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.0% during the second 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 buying an additional 328,184 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 593,100 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.