Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading 7.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 7.2% on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $23.00. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Murphy Oil traded as high as $25.32 and last traded at $25.57. 558,327 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,353,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.84.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.1%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.09.

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

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.