Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted net loss per share of 12 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 20 cents. The company’s bottom line was favorably impacted by a tight leash on costs and better-than-expected contribution from both segments. Precisely, the U.S. E&P and the International E&P reported a loss of $33 million and a profit of $29 million, beating the respective Zacks Consensus Estimates of a loss of $119 million and earnings of $8.4 million.
However, the fourth-quarter adjusted loss compared unfavorably with the year-earlier quarter's earnings of 7 cents due to lower liquids prices and production.
Marathon Oil reported revenues of $830 million that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $844 million and fell 31.7% year over.
Financials
Total costs in the quarter were $1.1 billion, $62 million lower than the prior-year period. Marathon Oil, which recently resumed a stepped-down quarterly dividend of 3 cents per share, reported an operating cash flow of $418 million in the fourth quarter, down from $700 million a year ago.
As of Dec 31, it had cash and cash equivalents worth $742 million and long-term debt of 5.4 billion. Debt-to-capitalization ratio of the company was 33.8.
2021 Guidance
Marathon Oil has set $1 billion of capital budget for this year, down from $1.2 billion it spent in 2020. The company is targeting production in the range of 330,000 BOE/d to 350,000 BOE/d, 11% lower than 2020 production at the midpoint. Further, Marathon Oil expects oil volumes in the band of 169,000-175,000 barrels per day (91% at the midpoint).
Zacks Rank & Stock Picks
Marathon Oil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy space are PDC Energy , Royal Dutch Shell and Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD - Free Report) . PDC Energy and Royal Dutch Shell sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Pioneer Natural Resources carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
PDC Energy has an expected earnings growth rate of 165.91% for the current year.
Royal Dutch Shell has an expected earnings growth rate of 165.32% for the current year.
Pioneer Natural Resources has an expected earnings growth rate of 319.91% for the current year.
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Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted net loss per share of 12 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 20 cents. The company’s bottom line was favorably impacted by a tight leash on costs and better-than-expected contribution from both segments. Precisely, the U.S. E&P and the International E&P reported a loss of $33 million and a profit of $29 million, beating the respective Zacks Consensus Estimates of a loss of $119 million and earnings of $8.4 million.
However, the fourth-quarter adjusted loss compared unfavorably with the year-earlier quarter's earnings of 7 cents due to lower liquids prices and production.
Marathon Oil reported revenues of $830 million that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $844 million and fell 31.7% year over.
Financials
Total costs in the quarter were $1.1 billion, $62 million lower than the prior-year period. Marathon Oil, which recently resumed a stepped-down quarterly dividend of 3 cents per share, reported an operating cash flow of $418 million in the fourth quarter, down from $700 million a year ago.
As of Dec 31, it had cash and cash equivalents worth $742 million and long-term debt of 5.4 billion. Debt-to-capitalization ratio of the company was 33.8.
2021 Guidance
Marathon Oil has set $1 billion of capital budget for this year, down from $1.2 billion it spent in 2020. The company is targeting production in the range of 330,000 BOE/d to 350,000 BOE/d, 11% lower than 2020 production at the midpoint. Further, Marathon Oil expects oil volumes in the band of 169,000-175,000 barrels per day (91% at the midpoint).
Zacks Rank & Stock Picks
Marathon Oil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy space are PDC Energy , Royal Dutch Shell and Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD - Free Report) . PDC Energy and Royal Dutch Shell sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Pioneer Natural Resources carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
PDC Energy has an expected earnings growth rate of 165.91% for the current year.
Royal Dutch Shell has an expected earnings growth rate of 165.32% for the current year.
Pioneer Natural Resources has an expected earnings growth rate of 319.91% for the current year.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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