Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Price Target Lowered to $28.00 at Citigroup

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Citigroup from $29.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 2.94% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MRO. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.03.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,198,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,641,746. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.34.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 226.0% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.