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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report report published on Monday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Monday. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.93 and its 200 day moving average is $27.81. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 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.