Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,234,435 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $64,061,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Marathon Oil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after buying an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,365 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $197,801,000 after purchasing an additional 556,566 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Marathon Oil by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,850,613 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $165,806,000 after purchasing an additional 825,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,136,561 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $124,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18,125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.72. 5,639,076 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,635,349. The company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.36. Marathon Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRO shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.03.

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.