Barclays Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $32.00

by · The Markets Daily

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Free Report) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.31.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $26.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy Oil

(Get Free Report)

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.

Featured Stories