Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) PT Set at $24.00 by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has set a target price of $24.00 for Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR), indicating a potential upside of 4.21% from the stock's previous close.
• Analysts' ratings on Murphy Oil vary, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.54.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27, exceeding expectations, but its revenue saw a 13.4% year-over-year decline.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a $24.00 target price by stock analysts at UBS Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.67% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MUR. Mizuho downgraded Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Roth Capital cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Johnson Rice lowered Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.38. 701,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,910,559. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.13. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $39.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,974,008 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $226,461,000 after purchasing an additional 35,826 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,700,148 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $128,253,000 after buying an additional 89,382 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 4,812,267 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $136,668,000 after buying an additional 2,029,685 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,766,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $107,247,000 after acquiring an additional 312,904 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,751,712 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $84,414,000 after acquiring an additional 118,689 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.