Marathon Oil Corp Stock Hold Recommendation Reiterated (MRO)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a hold with a ratings score of C+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income and weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• MRO's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 0.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 1.0%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• MRO's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.30 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Despite the fact that MRO's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.54, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to $769.00 million or 57.70% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 60.5% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $996.00 million to $393.00 million.

Marathon Oil Corporation operates as an energy company worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Exploration and Production, Oil Sands Mining, and Integrated Gas. The company has a P/E ratio of 10.9, below the average energy industry P/E ratio of 11 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Marathon Oil has a market cap of $19.44 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. Shares are down 7.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full Marathon Oil Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

 

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