Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Monday. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 126.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 11,299 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Marathon Oil by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,483 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 21.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.7% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.