Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report released on Saturday. The firm issued a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $29.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.61 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $31.27.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.6 %

MRO opened at $26.63 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.67. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. 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 (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (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 was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 6,066 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,852 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 59,882 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 11,178 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 989,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $23,941,000 after purchasing an additional 46,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,658 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in 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.