Zacks Research Expects Weaker Earnings for Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2026 earnings estimates for Murphy Oil in a report issued on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of $2.92 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.99. The consensus estimate for Murphy Oil’s current full-year earnings is $2.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy Oil’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.74 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays downgraded Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $37.54 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a twelve month low of $26.49 and a twelve month high of $43.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.81 and its 200-day moving average is $37.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 10.3% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,819 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter worth about $15,852,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,446.9% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 93,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 87,826 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth about $113,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Murphy Oil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Murphy Oil will release third-quarter 2026 financial and operating results after the market closes on November 4 and hold a conference call the following morning. The event could provide guidance on production, commodity-price exposure and capital spending. Murphy Oil schedules third-quarter 2026 conference call
• Neutral Sentiment: The average analyst price target is $37.83, only modestly above the stock’s recent trading level near $37.54. This suggests limited implied upside and no strong near-term valuation signal. Murphy Oil average target price
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its Murphy Oil EPS forecasts across multiple periods, including fourth-quarter 2026 to $0.66 from $0.73, full-year 2026 to $2.92 from $2.99, and full-year 2027 to $2.44 from $2.53. It also reduced estimates for the second and third quarters of 2027. The broad revisions signal softer expected earnings momentum and could weigh on investor sentiment. Zacks Research earnings estimate revisions for Murphy Oil

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

The company’s current operations are concentrated in the United States and Canada. In the United States, Murphy Oil has assets in the Eagle Ford and Gulf Coast onshore regions, as well as interests in the Gulf of Mexico. In Canada, the company operates in Western Canadian plays, including the Tupper Montney area.

Murphy Oil was incorporated in 1950 and has historically pursued exploration and production opportunities in several international markets in addition to North America.