Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives $32.36 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.3636.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays raised Murphy Oil from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.3%

MUR stock opened at $38.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 54.05 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.40. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $20.03 and a 52 week high of $43.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The firm had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 194.44%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after buying an additional 45,841 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Murphy Oil by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy Oil

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.