Capital One Financial Equities Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) – Research analysts at Capital One Financial cut their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Marathon Oil in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 11th. Capital One Financial analyst P. Johnston now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $0.46 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.52. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.62 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Marathon Oil’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.77 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.81 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.74 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.11 EPS.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last released its 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 return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

MRO has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays began coverage on Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus upgraded Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Oil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.61.

Marathon Oil Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MRO opened at $29.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Marathon Oil has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.29. The stock has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 2.22.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 114,828 shares in the company, valued at $3,168,104.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 281,332 shares of company stock worth $7,644,903 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $748,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,754 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $219,828,000 after buying an additional 8,091,570 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1,134.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,457,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $130,763,000 after buying an additional 5,015,428 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at about $89,591,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Oil by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 19,388,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $468,428,000 after buying an additional 3,795,020 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.