Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.55. 7,846,892 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,058,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.26 and its 200 day moving average is $27.51. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 17.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRO. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.12.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% 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.