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

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.58.

A number of research firms have commented on MUR. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 19.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,212,000 after purchasing an additional 107,462 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.3 %

Murphy Oil stock opened at $28.14 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $28.09 and a one year high of $49.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.10 and its 200 day moving average is $35.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

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.