Piper Sandler Increases Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $55.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $49.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Piper Sandler's target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.54% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE MUR traded up $0.82 on Friday, reaching $46.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,307,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,909. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.17 and its 200 day moving average is $42.61. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $32.80 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The firm had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $852.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at $470,447.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Murphy Oil news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644 in the last quarter. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Monument Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.1% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,647 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 23.0% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,132,305 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,746,000 after purchasing an additional 212,100 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 313 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.