Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.55, but opened at $41.41. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $41.0830, with a volume of 112,862 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.47 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 194.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,049.14. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of 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 increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. 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.

About Murphy Oil

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.