Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the topic of several other reports. Capital One Financial cut Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.65.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.67 and a 200 day moving average of $27.58. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRO. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 226.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.