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

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.41, but opened at $25.65. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $25.43, with a volume of 1,196,245 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The business 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%. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.19%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,620 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $618,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $678,000. 78.31% of the stock is 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.