Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.92.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MUR shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,147,590 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,986,000 after buying an additional 821,427 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 399.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,177,000 after buying an additional 810,104 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,529,528 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,284,000 after buying an additional 794,730 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 886,485.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 594,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,976,000 after acquiring an additional 593,945 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $25.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Murphy Oil’s dividend 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.