Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $31.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.55% from the company’s previous close.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.58.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR opened at $30.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.76 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.51. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.75%. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.7% during the first 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 during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 22.6% in the first 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 valued at $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 213.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 25,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 156,114 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

More Murphy Oil News

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat on EPS: Murphy reported $0.14/share, beating the consensus loss and surprising to the upside — supportive for near-term earnings sentiment. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike: Murphy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 (7.7% increase) implying a ~4.5% yield — raises cash return to shareholders and supports income-oriented buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $32, reflecting some analyst optimism on valuation/upside. Wells Fargo PT
• Positive Sentiment: Operational upside: Coverage highlighting a successful appraisal well and follow‑on potential could support longer‑term production expectations. Appraisal Well
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosures: The full Q4 earnings presentation and transcript are available for investors who want detail on cash flow, capex and guidance; useful for modeling but not a single headline mover. Earnings Transcript Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported net profit: Local coverage notes a $11.9M quarterly profit — confirms profitability but magnitude is modest relative to market cap. Profit Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry developments (new offshore deals/discoveries in Morocco and Vietnam) may influence regional exploration sentiment but are not company‑specific catalysts. Morocco Deal Vietnam Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and market reaction: Q4 revenue came in below estimates, which analysts flagged and which triggered an intra‑day selloff. Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgrade: Barclays cut its rating to “underweight” and lowered its price target to $29, citing downside versus current levels — a clear near‑term headwind for sentiment. Barclays Downgrade TickerReport

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.