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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report released on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO opened at $27.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 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 company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.74.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’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 approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 564.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,832 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 31,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 33,731 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601 shares in 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.