Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Stake Lifted by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,442 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,059 shares during the period. Marathon Oil accounts for about 0.7% of Duality Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $6,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MRO. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Marathon Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.97.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE MRO traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $28.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,554,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,557,832. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 2.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.04. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.