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

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

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MRO. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.86.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Marathon Oil stock opened at $28.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.39 and a 200 day moving average of $25.89. Marathon Oil has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. Marathon Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 226.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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.