Weekly Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Murphy Oil (MUR)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR):

• 4/22/2024 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at KeyCorp from $50.00 to $54.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/19/2024 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $49.00 to $55.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/15/2024 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $53.00 to $55.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/11/2024 – Murphy Oil was downgraded by analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating. They now have a $50.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $46.00.
• 4/10/2024 – Murphy Oil is now covered by analysts at Barclays PLC. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock.
• 4/5/2024 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $58.00 to $59.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/4/2024 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $51.00 to $52.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 3/21/2024 – Murphy Oil had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Mizuho. They now have a $53.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $50.00.
• 3/20/2024 – Murphy Oil had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Roth Mkm.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.81. 320,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,808,471. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $32.80 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.44%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,904.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $89,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038,692 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,172 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,554,000 after acquiring an additional 442,579 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $16,349,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 71.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 837,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,969,000 after purchasing an additional 348,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.9% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 837,625 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,986,000 after purchasing an additional 316,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.