Viking Fund Management LLC Has $5.10 Million Stock Holdings in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 12.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 180,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Oil were worth $5,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Marathon Oil by 4.8% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Oil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 102,974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,918,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Marathon Oil by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Marathon Oil by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,384 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Oil Stock Performance

MRO stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.58. The stock had a trading volume of 4,911,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,790,758. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 2.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.71. Marathon Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.81 and a fifty-two week high of $30.06. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. Marathon Oil’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial lowered Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Argus raised Marathon Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Oil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.86.

Marathon Oil 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.