Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MUR. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $26.84 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 2.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.02 and its 200-day moving average is $31.05. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. 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 4.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.