Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MRO. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO opened at $26.10 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.19%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRO. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 238,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,380,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 373,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,002,000 after buying an additional 223,877 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 580,242 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,521,000 after buying an additional 35,998 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 36,395 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,485,704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $173,493,000 after buying an additional 550,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.