Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. Nine equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MRO opened at $26.40 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $383,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth about $40,779,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.