Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $41.25, but opened at $39.92. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $39.4880, with a volume of 294,939 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays upgraded Murphy Oil from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 4.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.76 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.61.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 194.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 67.3% in 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 buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.