Morgan Stanley Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $27.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MUR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $27.20 on Tuesday. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $34.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.16.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The business had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 246.6% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 148.1% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.