Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Stock Has Average Target Price of $38.92 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Murphy Oil, with nine holds, four buys and two sells among 15 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $38.92, below the stock’s reported opening price of $44.36.
• Murphy Oil’s latest quarter showed 33.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $926.33 million, though earnings of $1.55 per share slightly missed estimates of $1.57.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to $1.40 annually and a 3.2% yield; institutional investors own approximately 78.31% of the stock.

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.92.

MUR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE MUR opened at $44.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.59. 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 has a 12 month low of $26.49 and a 12 month high of $45.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.43.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%. Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth $626,514,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 105.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,310,884 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $136,574,000 after buying an additional 1,700,498 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter valued at $49,681,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter valued at $45,719,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter valued at $19,536,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation NYSE: MUR is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with a focus on high-quality assets in North America.

The company's operations are primarily located in the United States, including onshore assets in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also historically maintained exploration and production interests in Canada and other international regions, although its current portfolio is concentrated in the United States.

Founded in 1950, Murphy Oil has evolved from a diversified energy company into a focused exploration and production business.

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