Wall Street Zen Downgrades Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) to Sell

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MUR. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:MUR opened at $30.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.59 and a 200-day moving average of $25.43. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.99. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $34.52.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 148.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is 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.