Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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 report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.74.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 15.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after buying an additional 22,526 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 217.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 125,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 85,649 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 11,299 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 8.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 20,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. 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.