Piper Sandler Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $42.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $43.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MUR has been the topic of several other research reports. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $32.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $30.99 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 3,191.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,627,268 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $54,904,000 after buying an additional 1,577,831 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 399.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,177,000 after purchasing an additional 810,104 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 641.7% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 672,717 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,697,000 after purchasing an additional 582,020 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 90.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,092,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,050,000 after buying an additional 518,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 92.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 687,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,342,000 after buying an additional 329,521 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently 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.