Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The firm set a "buy" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

MRO has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Oil currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.12.

Marathon Oil Stock Down 0.7 %

Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.66. 2,686,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,970,512. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.81 and a 52-week high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Oil will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total transaction of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. This trade represents a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. The trade was a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRO. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 16,545 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Oil during the third quarter valued at about $243,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 46.1% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 18,706 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 472,110 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $12,570,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Finally, ClearAlpha Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 65.0% during the third quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 337,535 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $8,989,000 after buying an additional 132,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.