Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at Barclays from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential downside of 2.36% from the company's previous close.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho downgraded Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.15.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $23.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 993,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,625. Murphy Oil has a twelve month low of $18.95 and a twelve month high of $43.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 1.09.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,890,000 after buying an additional 34,620 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,085,000 after purchasing an additional 26,563 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 7,070.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 113,144 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 111,566 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.

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