Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Murphy Oil shares reached a new 52-week high of $43.40, trading near $42.97, despite closing 0.7% lower in the latest session.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, nine recommend Hold and two rate it Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $38.92.
• Murphy Oil reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 33.5%, though quarterly EPS slightly missed estimates. The company also declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.3% yield.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $43.40 and last traded at $42.9690, with a volume of 87,450 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.7%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth $626,514,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,171,385 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $337,081,000 after acquiring an additional 238,326 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Murphy Oil by 105.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,310,884 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $136,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,498 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Murphy Oil by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,836,056 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $75,737,000 after purchasing an additional 60,190 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Murphy Oil by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,571,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $64,809,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation NYSE: MUR is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with a focus on high-quality assets in North America.

The company's operations are primarily located in the United States, including onshore assets in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also historically maintained exploration and production interests in Canada and other international regions, although its current portfolio is concentrated in the United States.

Founded in 1950, Murphy Oil has evolved from a diversified energy company into a focused exploration and production business.

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