Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $33.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 10.29% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.45.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy Oil news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Impact Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

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.