Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.94.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.81 and a one year high of $30.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 18.88%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $7,459,100.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,335,313.10. The trade was a 30.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 3.1% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 31,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 5.8% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. 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.