Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $0.49 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Marathon Oil in a report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will earn $0.49 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.50. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.68 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Marathon Oil’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.63 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. 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 research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO opened at $27.39 on Thursday. Marathon Oil has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,341,531 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,213,856,000 after buying an additional 392,821 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $748,683,000 after buying an additional 9,504,754 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after buying an additional 3,795,020 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,797,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $315,584,000 after buying an additional 2,176,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $219,828,000 after buying an additional 8,091,570 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.