Morgan Stanley Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $32.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.80% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 906,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,940,661. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,214,000 after buying an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $618,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 14,181 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 43,668 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 13,262 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.