Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.4167.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUR shares. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $31.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.77. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.96 and a 200 day moving average of $29.11.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 180.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.