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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MRO. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.87. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,274,000 after acquiring an additional 19,566 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,805,000 after purchasing an additional 171,450 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $392,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,369 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,673,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,864 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 28,350 shares during the period. 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.