StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)

Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on MRO. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price 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, September 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $27.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. Marathon Oil has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.52.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 22.12%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,620 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.