Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.27.

Several research firms have weighed in on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $37.25 on Thursday. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $26.49 and a 12 month high of $43.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.79 and its 200-day moving average is $37.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 10.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,819 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter worth $15,852,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,446.9% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 93,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,057,000 after acquiring an additional 87,826 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter valued at $113,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

The company’s current operations are concentrated in the United States and Canada. In the United States, Murphy Oil has assets in the Eagle Ford and Gulf Coast onshore regions, as well as interests in the Gulf of Mexico. In Canada, the company operates in Western Canadian plays, including the Tupper Montney area.

Murphy Oil was incorporated in 1950 and has historically pursued exploration and production opportunities in several international markets in addition to North America.