Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading 5.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shares rose 5.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.66 and last traded at $34.6820. 352,676 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,319,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Murphy Oil from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.58.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 4.4%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.17 and its 200-day moving average is $35.51. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 3.02%.The company had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $702.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,404 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Murphy Oil by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,836,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,737,000 after acquiring an additional 60,190 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $599,000. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at $244,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.