Monitoring recent stock price movement on shares of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) we have recorded the stock price at $13.1. Investors may be intently tracking price activity on the stock over the next few sessions, and looking for any signs of a possible shift in momentum. Let’s focus in on some historical trading information. Over the last 12 week period, the stock has moved -8.07%. Rewinding to the start of the year, we note that shares have seen a change of -8.65%. Over the past 4 weeks, shares have seen a change of 12.64%. Over the last 5 trading periods, the stock has moved -7.55%. Focusing on the important historic stock price levels can help keep the investors directed down the right path. After a recent check, we can see that the 52-week high is currently 23.99, and the 52-week low is presently 11.53.
Investing in the stock market has traditionally offered bigger returns than other types of investments. Along with the opportunity for higher returns comes a higher amount of risk. Stocks can be exposed to both market risk and business or financial risk. Market risk may be evident when the overall market takes a nose dive. Investors may hold stock of a company that has been performing great, but due to poor market conditions, the stock decreases in value. Investors may look to offset this risk by investing in other vehicles that don’t tend to move together. The business risk with stocks involves factors that may cause a company to perform poorly. This may include bad management, heightened competition, and declining company profits. Investors may try to limit this risk by creating a diversified portfolio including stocks from different sectors.
Looking at some analyst views on shares of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), we note that the consensus target price is resting at $19.53. This is the consensus target using estimates provided by the covering analysts polled. Sell-side analysts often produce target estimates for the companies that they track closely. Price target estimates can be calculated using various methods, and this may cause some analyst estimates to be drastically different than others. Many investors will track stock target prices, especially when analysts update the target price projections.
Investors might be paying attention to what Wall Street analysts think about shares of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO). Taking a peek at the current consensus broker rating, we can see that the ABR is 1.75. This average rating is provided by Zacks Research. This simplified numeric scale spans the range of one to five which translates brokerage firm Buy/Sell/Hold recommendations into an average broker rating. A low number in the 1-2 range typically indicates a Buy, 3 indicates a Hold and 4-5 represents a consensus Sell rating. In terms of the number of analysts that have the stock rated as a Buy or Strong Buy, we can see that the number is currently 13.
Shifting the focus to some earnings data, we have noted that the current quarter EPS consensus estimate for Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is 0.11. This EPS estimate consists of 10 Wall Street analysts taken into consideration by Zacks Research. For the previous reporting period, the company posted a quarterly EPS of 0.23. Sell-side analysts often provide their best researched estimates at what the company will report. These estimates hold a lot of weight on Wall Street and the investing community. Sometimes these analyst projections are spot on, and other times they are off. When a company reports actual earnings results, the surprise factor can cause a stock price to fluctuate. Investors will often pay added attention to a company that has beaten estimates by a large margin.
Investors often hear the saying “buy low, sell high”. This may seem highly obvious to anybody looking to get into the stock market. Even though investors typically know they should do this, novices tend to do just the opposite, buy high and sell low. Often times, amateur investors will get carried away when a stock is trending higher. They may attempt to get in on the stock after a big move with hopes of the stock going higher and an overall thought that relates to the fear of missing out. Often times, investors will find themselves in a precarious situation when this occurs. They might have taken a chance on a stock that maybe was too good to be true. Investors may regret buying after the big move when the price has far exceeded the underlying value. Closely watching the fundamentals may help investors avoid getting into sticky situations such as buying too high.
