Brokerages Set Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) PT at $37.75

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.75.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $34.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.56 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $21.86 and a fifty-two week high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $732.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.96 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 3.09%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 237.29%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by 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.