Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.66.

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRO shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,246,000 after purchasing an additional 221,388 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $125,527,000 after purchasing an additional 150,440 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 849,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $22,718,000 after purchasing an additional 71,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 222.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 67,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 46,796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 1.1 %

MRO opened at $28.77 on Tuesday. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.82 and a 200-day moving average of $25.30.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.19%.

About Marathon Oil

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.