Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded to “Underweight” Rating by Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $34.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $38.00.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MUR. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $34.63 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $21.86 and a one year high of $43.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.80 and a 200-day moving average of $36.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The business had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.