Zacks Research Upgrades Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) to Hold

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

MUR has been the topic of several other reports. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.5%

MUR stock opened at $29.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.99. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $34.52.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter. The firm 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $9,602,000 after buying an additional 30,176 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 251.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,001 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.