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

Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.76.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRO. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 374.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 73,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 58,081 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 304,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 175,964 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 79,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth $5,051,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $6,837,000. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.36 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.81 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The company has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.