Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading Up 4.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) rose 4.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.94 and last traded at $39.8260. 107,711 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 2,129,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MUR. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.75.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 5.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.66 and a 200 day moving average of $37.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.