Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded to Underweight Rating by Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has $24.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer's stock, down from their prior price objective of $32.00.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.5 %

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.96. 1,235,625 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,147. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.77. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $46.91.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $44,000. 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.