Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Rating Lowered to Sector Perform at Scotiabank

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $46.00. Scotiabank’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.32% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $47.03 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $32.80 and a one year high of $49.14. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The company had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $852.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 68.2% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 7,940.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.