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

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MUR. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.58.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $32.54 on Friday. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $34.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.01 and its 200-day moving average is $27.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The business had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 148.1% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 494.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.