Advisory Alpha LLC Buys Shares of 14,097 Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 14,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 8.0% during the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 15,763 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $217,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $975,000. Callan Capital LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $298,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Oil during the first quarter worth $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRO. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $26.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.97.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Marathon Oil stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.37. 1,144,185 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,538,095. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.54 and its 200-day moving average is $26.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 2.19. Marathon Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $21.81 and a 52 week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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.