Zacks Research Forecasts Murphy Oil's Q1 Earnings (NYSE:MUR)

Key Points

• Zacks cut its Q1 2026 EPS estimate for Murphy Oil to ($0.25) (from ($0.22)) and maintains a "Hold" rating, while projecting FY2026 EPS of $0.05 versus a consensus full-year estimate of $2.94.
• Murphy Oil's most recent quarter beat EPS expectations at $0.14 (consensus ($0.07)) but missed on revenue at $613.1M, down 6.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annualized $1.40) for a ~3.6% yield, though its payout ratio is a high 194.44%.

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Murphy Oil in a report issued on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings of ($0.25) per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of ($0.22). Zacks Research has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Murphy Oil's current full-year earnings is $2.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy Oil's FY2026 earnings at $0.05 EPS.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $38.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.05 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $20.03 and a 12-month high of $43.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 61.8% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,495 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $6,967,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. TMB Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $808,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Murphy Oil by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,768 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 194.44%.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil's exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.

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