Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $26.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day moving average of $27.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30 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 has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is presently 17.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,662,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $27,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 20,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by 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.