Analysts Set Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Target Price at $40.92

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.92.

A number of brokerages have commented on MUR. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Covestor Ltd increased its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $32.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.55 and a 200 day moving average of $37.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $30.99 and a one year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

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.