Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MRO. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Nine research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.87.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $26.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 441 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.