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

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.94.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRO shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Oil in a research report on Saturday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 382,693 shares of company stock worth $10,964,251. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRO. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently 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.