Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.46.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE MUR traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, hitting $26.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,821,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,381,897. The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.95 and a 52-week high of $43.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 700,779 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $15,768,000 after buying an additional 29,765 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 148.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 213.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 25,919 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $367,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.