Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded by Johnson Rice to Hold

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Johnson Rice from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $0.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 437,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,123,438. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $43.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $23.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.49.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. The firm had revenue of $665.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,890,000 after buying an additional 34,620 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $618,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $678,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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