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

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.94.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler dropped 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 reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.88. 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 has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06.

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

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. This trade represents a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 664,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,686,000 after purchasing an additional 34,503 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,524 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,882,000 after purchasing an additional 278,463 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $334,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Company 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.