Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $30.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Mizuho’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.91% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MUR. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of MUR traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,504,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,712,717. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.57 and its 200-day moving average is $24.74. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $34.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the first quarter worth approximately $577,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 317,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 170.3% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,562 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 12,324 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.2% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,367 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 9.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 338,114 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,602,000 after purchasing an additional 30,176 shares in 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.