Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of MRO traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.09. 14,809,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,774,967. Marathon Oil has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $30.06. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 2.22. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.94 and a 200-day moving average of $25.44.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 51,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.59, for a total transaction of $1,417,822.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,168,104.52. 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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRO. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

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.