Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) has announced the reinstatement of its quarterly dividend. The previous quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share was suspended in the previous quarter. Now Marathon will pay a lower $0.03 per share quarterly dividend.

In a press release dated October 1, 2020, Marathon Oil announced today that its board of directors has declared a dividend of 3 cents per share on Marathon Oil Corporation common stock. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2020 to stockholders of record on November 18, 2020.

A new annual dividend rate of 12 cents will yield 2.9% at a stock price of $4.12 for Marathon Oil stock. The company will now pay an estimated annual dividend of $95 million to shareholders.

"While 2020 has included its fair share of challenges, we believe we have successfully repositioned our Company for success in a lower, more volatile commodity price environment," said Chairman, President, and CEO Lee Tillman in the company's press release announcing this dividend. "Through disciplined capital allocation, material cost reductions and a relentless focus on capital efficiency, we have materially enhanced our free cash flow generation potential and are positioned to deliver differentiated capital efficiency and peer leading free cash flow breakevens. Today's announcement is evidence of our progress and our forward confidence, as we are reinstating a base dividend and reducing our gross debt. Maintaining a strong balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders are core elements of our value proposition, and we believe we are well positioned to do both in the current environment."

Marathon Oil Corporation is an independent exploration and production company incorporated in 2001, focused on U.S. resource plays: the Eagle Ford in Texas, the Bakken in North Dakota, STACK and SCOOP in Oklahoma and Northern Delaware in New Mexico. The company also has international operations in E.G. The company's two reportable segments are: United States and International. The United States segment explores for, produces and markets crude oil and condensate, NGLs and natural gas in the United States. The International segment  explores for, produces and markets crude oil and condensate, NGLs and natural gas outside of the United States as well as produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as LNG and methanol, in E.G.