Marathon Oil’s (MRO) Positive Rating Reaffirmed at Susquehanna

Susquehanna restated their positive rating on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $33.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MRO. Argus upgraded Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.5 %

MRO stock opened at $27.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day moving average of $25.38.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,440,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 57.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 607,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,246,000 after buying an additional 221,388 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,692,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $125,527,000 after buying an additional 150,440 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,209,000. Finally, Ardevora Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP now owns 449,551 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after buying an additional 76,210 shares during the period. 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.