Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.92.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUR shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $33.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 106.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.