NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Marathon Oil Corp. are higher by 4.32% to $30.67 in late afternoon trading on Wednesday, as the rally in oil prices is sending some energy stocks soaring today. The commodity is jumping due to concerns regarding the ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East and data from the Energy Information Administration that showed crude oil stockpiles grew by 1.3 million barrels to 483.7 million barrels in the week ended April 10, less than the 3.6 million barrel increase analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast. Crude oil (WTI) is advancing by 4.99% to $55.95 per barrel and Brent crude is up by 3.29% to $60.35 per barrel this afternoon, according to the CNBC.com index. Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is involved in trying to deter rebels continuing the fighting in Yemen, Reuters reports, adding that a campaign of airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia threatened to turn into ground intervention following military maneuver discussions between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Gulf allies. Additionally, earlier this week analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch upgraded their rating on Marathon Oil to "buy" from "neutral" saying that the oil and natural gas exploration and production company is most levered to an oil recovery, theflyonthewall.com reported. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates MARATHON OIL CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate MARATHON OIL CORP (MRO) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed-some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income increased by 146.9% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $375.00 million to $926.00 million. The gross profit margin for MARATHON OIL CORP is rather high; currently it is at 50.38%. Regardless of MRO's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, MRO's net profit margin of 38.61% significantly outperformed against the industry. The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.30, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Although the company had a strong debt-to-equity ratio, its quick ratio of 0.94 is somewhat weak and could be cause for future problems. The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. In comparison to the other companies in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry and the overall market, MARATHON OIL CORP's return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the S&P 500. The share price of MARATHON OIL CORP has not done very well: it is down 18.89% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. Looking ahead, we do not see anything in this company's numbers that would change the one-year trend. It was down over the last twelve months; and it could be down again in the next twelve. Naturally, a bull or bear market could sway the movement of this stock. You can view the full analysis from the report here: MRO Ratings Report Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 25 Stocks for 2015
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