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

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.92.

MUR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,916 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $28.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day moving average of $30.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

About Murphy Oil

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.