Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $32.53 and last traded at $32.72, with a volume of 109740 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MUR. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.17.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.58.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $802.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.