Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.4545.

Several research analysts have commented on MUR shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Murphy Oil News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Crude rally / Middle East supply-risk premium: Oil prices have stayed elevated amid renewed geopolitical risk in the Middle East, prompting a rotation into upstream names. Murphy’s cash flows are closely tied to crude, so the stock typically amplifies moves in oil. Murphy Oil jumps as crude stays elevated
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgrade: Piper Sandler upgraded Murphy to an overweight/buy on rising oil prices, which can attract demand from model-driven and institutional buyers. Piper Sandler upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised rating to equal-weight and lifted its target to $33, trimming a prior underweight stance — a modest vote of confidence that supports the stock in the current oil-driven rally. Barclays upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $33 recently and other analysts (e.g., Piper Sandler) have lifted targets — analyst support combined with higher oil tends to boost sentiment. Goldman Sachs price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: Murphy recently raised its quarterly dividend (latest $0.35), which improves income appeal and can provide support during sector upswings. MarketBeat: dividend and company summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional flows: Large funds show both meaningful additions (FMR added millions of shares) and sizable reductions from others; this churn can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for longer-term direction. QuiverQuant: institutional & hedge fund activity
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Daniel Hanchera sold 47,320 shares (~$1.6M) in early March and reduced his holding materially; large insider sales can create near-term selling pressure or raise governance questions for some investors. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus / targets still mixed and average targets remain below the current share price: while a few firms raised targets, the median analyst target is around the low $30s and several firms maintain hold/underweight ratings — a reminder of upside limits if oil cools. MarketBeat: analyst coverage & targets

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the 4th 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 increased its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $36.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.39. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $36.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 194.44%.

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.