Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $28.65 and last traded at $28.65. 212,721 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,938,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 2.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,214,000 after buying an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after buying an additional 103,092 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,431,000 after buying an additional 76,487 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $618,000. 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.