Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE MRO opened at $27.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $26.72 and its 200-day moving average is $25.44.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.