Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating. Barclays now has a $33.00 price target on the stock. Murphy Oil traded as high as $36.17 and last traded at $36.34, with a volume of 3737101 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.72.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUR. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

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

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $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 buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 4.6%

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 has a 50-day moving average of $32.52 and a 200-day moving average of $30.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49 and a beta of 0.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 194.44%.

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.