Barclays Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $29.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $31.00 to $29.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.58.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE:MUR opened at $30.07 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.76 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 180.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

More Murphy Oil News

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat on EPS: Murphy reported $0.14/share, beating the consensus loss and surprising to the upside — supportive for near-term earnings sentiment. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike: Murphy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 (7.7% increase) implying a ~4.5% yield — raises cash return to shareholders and supports income-oriented buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $32, reflecting some analyst optimism on valuation/upside. Wells Fargo PT
• Positive Sentiment: Operational upside: Coverage highlighting a successful appraisal well and follow‑on potential could support longer‑term production expectations. Appraisal Well
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosures: The full Q4 earnings presentation and transcript are available for investors who want detail on cash flow, capex and guidance; useful for modeling but not a single headline mover. Earnings Transcript Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported net profit: Local coverage notes a $11.9M quarterly profit — confirms profitability but magnitude is modest relative to market cap. Profit Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry developments (new offshore deals/discoveries in Morocco and Vietnam) may influence regional exploration sentiment but are not company‑specific catalysts. Morocco Deal Vietnam Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and market reaction: Q4 revenue came in below estimates, which analysts flagged and which triggered an intra‑day selloff. Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgrade: Barclays cut its rating to “underweight” and lowered its price target to $29, citing downside versus current levels — a clear near‑term headwind for sentiment. Barclays Downgrade TickerReport

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.