Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUR. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.0%

MUR stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $26.49 and a 1-year high of $43.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.36.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The business had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.51 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 69.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.4% in the second quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 10,233 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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, with a focus on high-quality assets in North America.

The company’s operations are primarily located in the United States, including onshore assets in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also historically maintained exploration and production interests in Canada and other international regions, although its current portfolio is concentrated in the United States.

Founded in 1950, Murphy Oil has evolved from a diversified energy company into a focused exploration and production business.