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

Key Points

• Analysts give Murphy Oil an average “Hold” rating: Of 16 firms, 10 recommend holding the stock, while three rate it a sell and three a buy. The average 12-month price target is $37.25.
• Murphy Oil shares opened at $36.42, with a 52-week range of $24.49 to $43.34 and a market capitalization of approximately $5.22 billion. Recent analyst actions included price-target cuts from Wells Fargo and Barclays.
• The company slightly missed quarterly EPS estimates but reported strong revenue growth: earnings were $1.55 per share versus $1.57 expected, while revenue rose 33.5% year over year to $926.33 million. Murphy Oil also pays a $0.35 quarterly dividend, yielding about 3.8%.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

A number of research firms have commented on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $36.42 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $35.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.84. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $24.49 and a fifty-two week high of $43.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is 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 stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in Murphy Oil by 4.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source