Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

MRO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Nine investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil has a twelve month low of $21.81 and a twelve month 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 256,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRO. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Oil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 1.6% in 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.