Stifel Financial Corp Trims Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 80,345 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Marathon Oil worth $8,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRO. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 22,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Oil by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 24,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Oil by 77.4% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Oil by 6.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRO. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRO opened at $28.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $21.81 and a 1 year high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Marathon Oil had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 19.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Oil Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,430,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,000. This trade represents a 34.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.84, for a total transaction of $1,040,950.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,020,557.40. The trade was a 25.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 344,693 shares of company stock valued at $9,930,271 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.