Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Barclays

Equities research analysts at Barclays started coverage on shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 13.18% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, March 21st. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $47.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $32.80 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at $41,811,324.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. Corporate insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 7,940.0% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 68.2% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.