Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.58.

MUR has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $28.14 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.10 and a 200 day moving average of $35.99. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $28.09 and a 52-week high of $49.14. 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 market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 38.71%.

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.