StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MRO. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Tuesday. 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 PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.94 and its 200-day moving average is $27.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total transaction of $7,459,100.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,335,313.10. This represents a 30.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 344,693 shares of company stock worth $9,930,271. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $383,313,000 after buying an additional 1,552,210 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter worth $33,273,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Oil

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.