Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.5385.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MUR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $31.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $35.19.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The business had revenue of $720.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $648.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 22,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,895 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 138.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,936 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 20,271 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 9,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,799 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.