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

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

MRO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $27.61 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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%. Marathon Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total value of $1,040,950.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. This trade represents a 25.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 15.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 22,526 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,727,190 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,369 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $6,673,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 68,864 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 28,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $2,292,000. Hedge funds and other 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.