Advisory Alpha LLC Buys Shares of 14,097 Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MRO traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,144,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,538,095. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 2.19. Marathon Oil Co. has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.54 and its 200-day moving average is $26.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during 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%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRO. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank downgraded Marathon Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.97.

Marathon Oil 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.