Barclays Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $38.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $46.00 to $38.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MUR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.67.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $36.05 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $32.53 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 2.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $802.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,254,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $340,400,000 after acquiring an additional 262,256 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 7.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,737,409 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,100,000 after purchasing an additional 195,906 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 5.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,212,000 after buying an additional 107,462 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 23.0% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,132,305 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,746,000 after buying an additional 212,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 90.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,092,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,050,000 after buying an additional 518,904 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.