Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded by Scotiabank

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $50.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $46.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday. They issued an equal weight rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $48.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.4 %

Murphy Oil stock opened at $47.04 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a twelve month low of $32.80 and a twelve month high of $49.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,811,324.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Murphy Oil by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,527 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its position in Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,048 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.