Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" for Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR), with a mix of ratings including three sell, eleven hold, and one buy recommendation.
• Recent adjustments in target prices include Morgan Stanley lowering it from $28.00 to $27.00, while Piper Sandler increased it from $30.00 to $32.00, reflecting varied outlooks on the stock's performance.
• Murphy Oil declared a $0.325 quarterly dividend, representing an annual yield of 4.7%, with a payout ratio of 67.36% as it continues to distribute shareholder returns.

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.25.

A number of research firms recently commented on MUR. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 146.5% during the first 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 period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $672,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 54.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,151 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 12.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.8%

MUR stock opened at $27.82 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $34.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average is $26.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.The business had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 67.36%.

About Murphy Oil

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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