Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $26.00 at Morgan Stanley

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 24.88% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lowered Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Johnson Rice lowered Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $20.82. 250,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,199,624. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.10. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $18.95 and a 52 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $22.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.37.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $665.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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