Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives $34.92 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.92.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $28.78 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.61. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released 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 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,916 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.