Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price Down 6% - Should You Sell?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) shares fell 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $23.25 and last traded at $23.34. 2,578,910 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 2,312,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho downgraded Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Johnson Rice cut shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 6.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.88. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.09.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 13.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,620 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,263 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $678,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $618,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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