Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $29.00 at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays from $31.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 4.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.24. 685,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,855,849. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.01 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.91 and its 200-day moving average is $28.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $35.19.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.72%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 794,510 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 10.1% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 124,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,804,000 after buying an additional 11,470 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 7.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,766,534 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $107,247,000 after buying an additional 312,904 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 512.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,948 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 58,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,132,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Murphy Oil

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share (annualized $1.40) — a 7.7% increase from the prior payout, supporting income investors and signaling confidence in cash returns. Murphy Oil Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat expectations: reported $0.14 EPS vs. consensus losses, which cushioned downside from weaker top‑line results. EPS outperformance reduces near‑term earnings uncertainty. Murphy Oil Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $32, indicating at least one analyst sees upside from current levels. That may help support the stock if execution/commodity trends stabilize. Wells Fargo Raises Price Target to $32
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released full Q4 & full‑year 2025 results plus 2026 capital‑expenditure and production guidance — investors should review guidance details for 2026 production and capex assumptions. Murphy Oil Announces Q4 and Full-Year Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published the Q4 earnings slide deck and transcript (useful for detail on cash flow, capital allocation and asset sales plans). Review the presentation for management commentary on margins and buybacks/dividends. Q4 Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local coverage reports the company posted $11.9M in quarterly profit — confirms the modest net result but underscores the drop from prior year. Murphy Oil Posts $11.9M Quarterly Profit
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates: Q4 revenue of ~$613M came in below consensus, sparking the intra‑day selloff as top‑line weakness raises questions about demand and pricing exposure. Murphy Oil Shares Tumble as Q4 Revenue Misses
• Negative Sentiment: Net income and operating cash flow declined sharply year‑over‑year (net income down ~76%; operating cash flow down ~42%), and capex rose — this mix pressures free cash flow and could constrain buybacks or future dividend growth if trends persist. Q4 Earnings: Revenue Miss, EPS Beats; Net Income Falls Sharply
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed with recent underweight ratings and a wide range of price targets (median near ~$30.5) — heightened analyst caution could keep volatility high until revenue/cash‑flow trends improve. Analyst Ratings & Price Targets Summary

About Murphy Oil

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.