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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report sent to investors on Sunday. The firm issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MRO. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.73 and its 200 day moving average is $27.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,185,000 after buying an additional 1,357,369 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,461,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,582,000 after buying an additional 328,184 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,443,713 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $184,741,000 after buying an additional 593,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,267,506 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,274,000 after acquiring an additional 19,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,884,151 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,805,000 after acquiring an additional 171,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.