Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.3333.

A number of research firms recently commented on MUR. Barclays downgraded Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $34.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, September 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,852,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 1,446.9% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 93,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,057,000 after buying an additional 87,826 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $113,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the second quarter worth about $308,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $38.48 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $25.32 and a 52-week high of $43.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.00.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include acquiring acreage, drilling and developing wells, and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids for sale to customers and markets.

The company’s portfolio is primarily focused on onshore assets in the United States, including operations in the Eagle Ford and other U.S. resource plays, as well as offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also maintained an international exploration and production presence, including projects in Canada and Malaysia, though its asset portfolio has changed over time through acquisitions and divestitures.

Murphy Oil traces its roots to the Murphy family’s business interests and has operated as a publicly traded energy company for decades.