Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a report released on Saturday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.57 and its 200 day moving average is $27.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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