Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Truist Financial

Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $31.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $42.00.

MUR has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $26.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.78. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $26.47 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 2.17.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.