Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and thirteen have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.50.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 148.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $32.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.03. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $34.52. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 0.81.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The firm had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 132.65%.

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.