Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.24, but opened at $36.58. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $36.0540, with a volume of 195,308 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Johnson Rice upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Scotiabank upgraded Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.27.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.43 and a 200 day moving average of $32.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The business had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 194.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 45,841 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% in 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. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.