Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.25.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $27.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $34.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.19.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firm had revenue of $440.08 million during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 67.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 210.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,610,766 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $159,346,000 after acquiring an additional 3,805,565 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 4,812,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $136,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029,685 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 8,530.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,763,345 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,914 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 111.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,157,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 44.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,068,290 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,037,000 after acquiring an additional 950,630 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is 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.