Long Focus Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Long Focus Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 50,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 287,000 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 374.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 58,081 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,051,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,837,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 715,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,285,000 after acquiring an additional 117,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of MRO opened at $25.87 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $27.57 and a 200 day moving average of $27.64. The company has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Marathon Oil’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 posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.65.

Marathon Oil 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.