Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $31.18 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $31.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.26. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $720.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $648.80 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.