Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading Up 3.4% – What’s Next?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s share price traded up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $35.85 and last traded at $36.00. 739,867 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,492,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MUR. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.31 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.21 and a 200-day moving average of $29.84. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The company had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 194.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.