Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Raised to $34.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MUR has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.83.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock opened at $34.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $36.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.01.

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

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 194.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,896,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 44.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,068,290 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,037,000 after purchasing an additional 950,630 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.0% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,119,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $60,218,000 after buying an additional 794,510 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth approximately $21,096,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Murphy Oil by 33.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,056,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,423,000 after buying an additional 514,127 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.