Marathon Oil Corp.

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) is a corporation that specializes in oil exploration and production. The Eagle Ford in Texas, the Bakken in North Dakota, the Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher Counties (STACK) and South-Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) in Oklahoma, and Northern Delaware in New Mexico are among the Company's priority areas. The company is divided into two segments: domestic and international.

Key Highlights

• Marathon Oil Corporation stated on April 28, 2022, that its board of directors has declared an 8-cent-per-share dividend on Marathon Oil Corporation’s common stock. This is a roughly 15% increase over the company's previous quarterly base dividend payout of 7 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on June 10, 2022, to shareholders who have held their shares since May 17, 2022.
• Marathon Oil Corporation reported USD1,304 million in net income, or USD1.78 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2022, while adjusted net income was USD749 million, or USD1.02 per diluted share.
• First quarter oil-equivalent production of 345,000 net boed; oil production of 168,000 net bopd
• Outstanding first-quarter financial performance highlighted by USD940 million in adjusted free cash flow reinvested at a rate of 27 percent.
• Through USD592 million in share repurchases and a USD52 million basic dividend, the company returned 50 percent of first-quarter cash flow from operations (CFO) to equity investors.
• Raised the quarterly base dividend by almost 15%; this is the fifth straight quarterly base dividend increase, for a total rise of 167 percent since the start of 2021.
• Raising 2022 Equatorial Guinea equity income guidance by USD200 million.

Stock recommendation

MRO's stock price has gained 85.28% in the past six months and is currently in the upper side of its 52-week range of USD 10.41 to USD 33.24.  As can be seen in the chart below, the price is currently above both the short-term (50-day) SMA and long-term (200-day) SMA, with RSI at 44.72. The price is currently on the short-term SMA and has been continuously taking support from the SMA as can be seen in the chart below.

Given the stock's considerable upward momentum in the past six months, financial results, and technical analysis, we propose a "Watch" rating on the stock at its closing price of USD 28.07 as of June 15, 2022, with further analysis after looking at the price movement from the short term SMA.

One Year Technical Chart, as of June 15, 2022. Data Source: REFINITIV, Analysis by Kalkine Group

Technical Analysis Summary

* Closing price as of June 15, 2022.

Investors can evaluate the stock based on the support and resistance levels provided in the report in case of keen interest taking into consideration the risk-reward scenario.

Technical Indicators Defined: -

Support: A level where-in the stock prices tend to find support if they are falling, and a downtrend may take a pause backed by demand or buying interest.

Resistance: A level where-in the stock prices tend to find resistance when they are rising, and the uptrend may take a pause due to profit booking or selling interest.

Stop-loss: It is a level to protect further losses in case of unfavorable movement in the stock prices.

Note 1: The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.  

Note 2: Investment decisions should be made depending on the investors' appetite for upside potential, risks, holding duration, and any previous holdings. Investors can consider exiting the stock if the Target Price mentioned as per the valuation has been achieved and subject to the factors discussed above. 

Note 3: The report publishing date is as per the Pacific Time Zone.