Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives $39.58 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.58.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on 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 decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $28.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 2.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.72 and a 200 day moving average of $35.69. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $27.75 and a 52 week high of $49.14. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,254,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $340,400,000 after acquiring an additional 262,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $119,755,000 after purchasing an additional 45,432 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,659,000 after purchasing an additional 58,220 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 5.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,212,000 after purchasing an additional 107,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $54,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,831 shares during the period. 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.