Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.94.

Several research firms have weighed in on MRO. UBS Group cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped 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.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.73 and its 200 day moving average is $27.71. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.88%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,882,000 after buying an additional 278,463 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 8.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at $51,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 79,122 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 36,192 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.