Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Upgraded 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 published on Wednesday morning.

MRO has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MRO opened at $26.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.43.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 21.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 226.0% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.