StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)

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

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on MRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 1.4 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.57. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 18.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.