Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is scheduled to release its 3Q2016 financial results on November 2, 2016, after markets close. The company has stated that it would post prepared remarks and accompanying slides on its website, approximately an hour after the filing. This would also be followed by a conference call, which would be webcast on the company website, the next day at 9 am, ET. Marathon’s CEO, Lee Tillman, and CFO, Pat Wagner, would host the call, along with director of investor relations, Zach Dailey and the executive VP of operations, Mitch Little.
As the date draws near analysts have started to weigh in on the possible outcomes of the report. The analysts at Zack’s have pointed out that MRO has an excellent record of posting an earnings surprise, averaging at a positive surprise of 17.27%, in the last 12-months. Moreover, the company is also widespread, geographically, with a solid project pipeline. Furthermore, MRO also has a healthy balance sheet, which makes it easier to make use of investment opportunities. Although Marathon had a net loss for the 2Q2016, Zack’s believes that the positive trend would continue forward.
In addition to this, Marathon announced at the end of last week declared a quarterly dividend, of $0.05 per share, due to be paid on December 12, 2016. Stockholders of record, as of November 16, 2016, would be eligible for the payout. The announcement adds more fuel to the speculation of a positive earnings surprise, yet again. It should be noted here that Zack’s expects the company to post a net loss of $0.19 per share, with no earnings surprise.
As far as the stock is concerned, historically MRO has reacted well, to the earnings release, in the stock market. Despite having a loss of $0.23 per share, in the 2Q2016, MRO rose by approximately 26% in the following three weeks. Unfortunately, the stock’s year-to-date performance has been weak, as compared to others in its category. So far, MRO has risen by 5%, since the start of the year, as compared to 11% for the overall industry, during the same period.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) closed at a share price of $13.18, at the end of the October 31 trading session, 3.94% lower than the session before, after having a trade volume of 16.15 million.
