Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MUR. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $28.50.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,696,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,981. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $34.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.11.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $440.08 million for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 246.6% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 148.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

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.