Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $20.93, but opened at $21.77. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $21.41, with a volume of 231,006 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MUR. Scotiabank cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Johnson Rice lowered Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.86 and a 200-day moving average of $26.66.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. The business's revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% in 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 last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position 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 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.