Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $0.49 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Marathon Oil in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will earn $0.49 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.50. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.73 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Marathon Oil’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.63 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.76.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.4 %

Marathon Oil stock opened at $27.50 on Thursday. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRO. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 92.6% during the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.