Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $32.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Benchmark’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MRO. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday. Barclays initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRO opened at $27.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Marathon Oil has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 25.2% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 22.0% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 228.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 96,872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 67,391 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is 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.