Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 72.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $35.13 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $21.86 and a 52 week high of $43.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

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

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.