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

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $32.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an overweight rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MRO opened at $27.74 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.63 and a 200 day moving average of $25.43. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted 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 net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Oil will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 1.59%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In related 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 value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $4,757,459.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Marathon Oil by 367.9% during the third 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 during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Oil by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

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.