Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MRO. Argus upgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. 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 research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an overweight rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MRO stock opened at $26.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.94 and a 200-day moving average of $25.44. The company has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 2.22. 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 one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. 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 dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.8% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 87,563 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.