StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MRO. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 0.5 %

Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.59. The company had a trading volume of 5,087,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,697,123. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.36 and a 200 day moving average of $27.56.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in Marathon Oil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.