Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.12.

MRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.29 and its 200-day moving average is $27.51. The firm has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 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.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 19.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 715,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $20,285,000 after acquiring an additional 117,061 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 22,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,673,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,146,794,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 535,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,193,000 after purchasing an additional 143,912 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.