Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 8.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MUR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.68. 435,267 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,783,914. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $41.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.92 and a beta of 0.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy Oil news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,222,049.14. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.