Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Murphy Oil Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with two sell ratings, eleven hold ratings, and one buy rating among the fourteen firms covering the stock.
• The average 12-month price target for Murphy Oil is approximately $29.69, while recent price targets from various brokerages range from $24.00 to $32.00.
• Murphy Oil announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, reflecting a yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 67.36%.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.6923.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 34.6% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 146.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,085,000 after acquiring an additional 26,563 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 7,070.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 113,144 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 111,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 350.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $12,780,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $23.93 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $38.67. The stock's 50 day moving average is $24.23 and its 200-day moving average is $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.13.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.The company had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.36%.

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.

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