Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.64.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MUR. Scotiabank lowered Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at $41,811,324.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 47.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 27.0% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $44.61 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $32.80 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 2.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $794.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.