Dane E. Whitehead Sells 52,008 Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stock

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRO traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.93. The stock had a trading volume of 15,239,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,536,396. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.53. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 1.58%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 226.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $29,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.65.

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.