Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.77 and last traded at $22.88, with a volume of 296532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MUR. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.92.

Read Our Latest Report on MUR

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.56.

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

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 177.8% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $3,769,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 382,642 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,579,000 after buying an additional 40,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $1,303,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

Further Reading