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

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna reduced 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. 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. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.8 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $26.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.52. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06.

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

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Marathon Oil 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 45.6% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 13,271 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 4,158 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in Marathon Oil by 3.1% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.9% during the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 229,051 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,100,000 after purchasing an additional 12,704 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 34.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 23,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 2.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,082,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,834,000 after purchasing an additional 25,518 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.