Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading 5.4% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Murphy Oil's stock rose 5.4% to a trading price of $27.56, despite a significant drop in trading volume, which was 81% lower than its average session volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with price targets ranging from $23.00 to $32.00, and a consensus rating of "Reduce," indicating varying expectations on its future performance.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, yielding 4.7%, and institutional investors hold approximately 78.31% of its stock, suggesting strong institutional interest.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.45 and last traded at $27.56. Approximately 521,346 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,816,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.54.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.84.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.The firm had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 67.36%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 34.6% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 3,317 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 489.1% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 399,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 331,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 146.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,085,000 after purchasing an additional 26,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 7,070.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 113,144 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 111,566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

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.