Capital One Financial Comments on Marathon Oil Co.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MRO)

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) – Research analysts at Capital One Financial cut their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Marathon Oil in a research note issued on Thursday, April 11th. Capital One Financial analyst P. Johnston now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will earn $0.46 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.52. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.62 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Marathon Oil’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.77 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.81 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.74 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.11 EPS.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRO. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $28.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,459.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.