Q3 EPS Estimates for Marathon Oil Boosted by Zacks Research

Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Marathon Oil in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $0.50 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.47. The consensus estimate for Marathon Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.34 per share.

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MRO. UBS Group cut their price objective on Marathon Oil from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Marathon Oil in a report on Saturday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Oil from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Marathon Oil Price Performance

MRO stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.64. The company has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 2.16. Marathon Oil has a 12-month low of $21.81 and a 12-month high of $30.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,061,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Oil in the second quarter valued at $63,556,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Oil by 13.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,369,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $383,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,210 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Oil during the second quarter valued at $40,779,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,273,000. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Oil news, insider Dane E. Whitehead sold 52,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $1,430,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,000. This represents a 34.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henderson sold 38,000 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.21, for a total value of $1,033,980.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,489.88. The trade was a 33.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 382,693 shares of company stock valued at $10,964,251 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.88%.

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.