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

Key Points

• Murphy Oil currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 15 covering analysts, with an average 1-year price target of about $36.82.
• The company beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $0.32 EPS versus the $0.29 estimate, while revenue came in at $732.35 million, up 9% year over year.
• Murphy Oil also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.9%, even though its payout ratio is high at 237.29%.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.8182.

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded Murphy Oil from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $36.26 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $20.78 and a 52 week high of $43.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.63.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 3.09%. The firm had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 237.29%.

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.

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