Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $35.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MRO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $29.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.26. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,246,000 after acquiring an additional 221,388 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,527,000 after purchasing an additional 150,440 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 222.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 67,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 46,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% in the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 849,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,718,000 after purchasing an additional 71,988 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.