Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.37 and last traded at $38.2340, with a volume of 3584461 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Murphy Oil from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.82.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.10 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.00 and its 200 day moving average is $30.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 194.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,896,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,068,290 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,037,000 after buying an additional 950,630 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 60.0% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,119,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,218,000 after buying an additional 794,510 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at about $21,096,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 33.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,056,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,423,000 after buying an additional 514,127 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.