Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price Up 4.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Murphy Oil shares rose 4.4% to about $41.61, despite trading volume falling 73% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, eight Hold, and three Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $39.27, below the current share price.
• Murphy Oil reported quarterly revenue of $926.3 million, up 33.5% year over year, though EPS slightly missed estimates. The company also declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, representing a 3.4% yield.

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) traded up 4.4% on Friday. The company traded as high as $41.49 and last traded at $41.6060. 567,447 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,089,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MUR. Mizuho increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank began coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, September 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.27.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 4.7%

The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%. Murphy Oil's revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,065,000. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the second quarter worth $15,852,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth $45,719,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the second quarter valued at $5,789,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at about $1,745,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

The company's current operations are concentrated in the United States and Canada. In the United States, Murphy Oil has assets in the Eagle Ford and Gulf Coast onshore regions, as well as interests in the Gulf of Mexico. In Canada, the company operates in Western Canadian plays, including the Tupper Montney area.

Murphy Oil was incorporated in 1950 and has historically pursued exploration and production opportunities in several international markets in addition to North America.

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