Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Receives $36.38 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.31.

MUR has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 5.1 %

Murphy Oil stock opened at $25.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.94 and a 200-day moving average of $31.70. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14. 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 cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.