Q1 2024 Earnings Forecast for Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) Issued By Zacks Research

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO - Free Report) - Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Marathon Oil in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $0.49 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.50. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil's current full-year earnings is $2.68 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Marathon Oil's Q1 2026 earnings at $0.63 EPS.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 23.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.66.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MRO traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,244,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,923,243. The business's 50-day moving average is $26.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.32. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Oil's payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Oil

In other Marathon Oil news, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,065,130.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Marathon Oil news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lee M. Tillman sold 80,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $2,172,630.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 596,330 shares in the company, valued at $16,065,130.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRO. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,988,152 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $748,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,754 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1,220.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,754,588 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $219,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,091,570 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 1,134.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,457,542 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $130,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015,428 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,591,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 24.3% during the 4th 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. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.