Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MRO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $26.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day moving average is $25.43. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 15,763 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $217,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $975,000. Callan Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter valued at about $120,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.