Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on MRO. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.87.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.6 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $26.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.45. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released 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 analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position 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 worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 0.5% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Oil

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.