Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Raised to $39.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MUR. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays raised shares of Murphy Oil from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.82.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $38.16 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 52.99 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $38.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 194.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction 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 $1,222,049.14. This trade represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during 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 buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 worth $55,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in 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.