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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.95 and a 200 day moving average of $27.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

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

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,882,000 after acquiring an additional 278,463 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 79,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 36,192 shares during 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.