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

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRO stock opened at $26.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.63. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,751,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,146,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835,604 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,779,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.