Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $39.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $42.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MUR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.58.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $29.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average of $36.20. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 19.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter valued at approximately $251,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.