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 Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MRO has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.61.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MRO traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.71. The company had a trading volume of 10,209,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,752,631. Marathon Oil has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 2.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 21.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Oil will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In related news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 39,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total transaction of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. 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 Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.89, for a total value of $1,074,766.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 176,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,459.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total value of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co increased 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Oil

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.