Marathon Rises on Surprise Revenue Growth

By Trey Thoelcke Published Nov 6, 10:14AM EST

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Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) shares are higher in morning trading after the company offered solid third-quarter results, including a surprise year-over-year increase in revenues.

The Houston-based oil and gas company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.64 on revenues of $4.16 billion for the quarter. In the same period a year ago, the company reported $0.56 per share on revenues of $3.80 billion. The quarter’s results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.64 and $3.50 million in revenues.

Exploration and production available for sale per day averaged 392,000 net barrels. That excluded Libya, and it exceeded the company’s 365,000 to 380,000 target.

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr., the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said:

Our investment in the Eagle Ford shale a little more than a year ago, and our bolt-on acquisitions since then, continue to deliver value beyond original expectations. Not only have we improved the speed and efficiency of our drilling and completions there, we also continue to optimize well spacing which could significantly increase drillable locations and recoverable reserves. … With a strong position in U.S. resource plays and the very good operational performance we’ve had this year, Marathon Oil is positioned to meet or exceed our full-year production targets.

Shares are about 1% higher in morning trading to $30.84. The 52-week range is $23.17 to $35.49. But so far the mean price target is $34.75.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.