Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives $36.33 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.33.

MUR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE MUR opened at $28.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $25.26 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.94.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.61%.

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.