Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

MRO has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $28.59. 5,087,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,697,123. The company has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRO. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 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.