Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $29.47 and traded as high as $31.97. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $31.5260, with a volume of 1,472,601 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MUR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.47. 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 (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 194.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. 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.