Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.90.

MUR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $44.75 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $32.80 and a 52-week high of $48.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The business had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $852.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.44%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,589.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 68.2% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 7,940.0% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy Oil

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.