5 Energy Stocks To Buy On the OPEC Production Cuts

4. Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is an American exploration and production company that drills and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and it is one of the oldest companies of its kind after being set up in 1887.

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is one of the eleven firms that is extracting oil from the Permian Basin in the Southwest United States. Production from this basin is on track to touch a record 5.45 million barrels by the end of November according to the Energy Information Administration, providing the firm with a larger revenue base. Additionally, and for a crucial point when it comes to investors, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is one of the few companies that has tied its capital return program to its operating cash flows instead of its free cash flows. This places investors higher on the priority list when it comes to returning capital, and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) plans to return $1 billion to investors as long as WTI oil prices stay above $60 a barrel.

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO)’s full year cash flows are slated to touch $4.8 billion, and even if it returns 50%, the annualized return sits at a decent 10.6%. As this year’s June quarter ended, 41 out of the 895 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had held a stake in the company.

Out of these, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO)’s largest investor. It owns 8.6 million shares that are worth $194 million.