Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Murphy Oil from "underweight" to "equal weight" and set a $33 price target, implying roughly a 6.6% downside from the prior close.
• The analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $31.45 after several firms (including UBS, Zacks and Wall Street Zen) recently adjusted ratings or targets.
• Shares traded at $35.34 mid-day; the company posted an EPS beat ($0.14 vs. -$0.07) despite lower revenue year-over-year, and SVP Daniel Hanchera sold 47,320 shares while institutional investors own about 78% of the stock.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $33.00 price target on the oil and gas producer's stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential downside of 6.62% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MUR. Zacks Research raised Murphy Oil from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy Oil from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.45.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,520,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,578,416. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.19 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $36.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.52 and a 200 day moving average of $30.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 255.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 508,012 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $14,433,000 after buying an additional 365,011 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,119,622 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $60,218,000 after acquiring an additional 794,510 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $920,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,736,815 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $106,163,000 after acquiring an additional 668,525 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Murphy Oil by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,766,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $107,247,000 after acquiring an additional 312,904 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil's exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.

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