Marathon Oil (MRO) Set to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) is set to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect Marathon Oil to post earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Marathon Oil to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $27.82 on Wednesday. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.44 and a 200-day moving average of $25.40. 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 has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRO. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays began coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.66.

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.