Why Marathon Oil Stock Is An S&P 500 Favorite Today

Marathon Oil Corp MRO shares are trading higher by some 5.59% to $31.42 going into the close of Thursday's session. The company Wednesday reported better-than-expected third-quarter EPS and sales results. The company also announced it has acquired the Eagle Ford assets of Ensign Natural Resources for total cash consideration of $3.0 billion.

Also, Credit Suisse analyst William Janela maintained Marathon Oil with a Neutral and raised the price target from $30 to $32.

What Happened?

Marathon Oil reported quarterly earnings of $1.24 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.19.

The company reported quarterly sales of $2.25 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.02 billion by 11%. This sales figure represents a 55% increase over sales of $1.45 billion in the same period last year.

See Also: Why Boeing Stock Is Seeing Blue Skies

"Third-quarter results are once again highlighted by strong operations and compelling financial delivery that competes with the best companies in the S&P 500," said chairman, president, and CEO Lee Tillman.

The transaction to acquire Eagle Ford's assets is expected to close by year-end with an effective date of Oct. 1, 2022; a separate acquisition press release and presentation available on the Marathon Oil website.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, MRO has a 52-week high of $33.24 and a 52-week low of $14.29.