Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.53, but opened at $29.38. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $30.0840, with a volume of 574,360 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $28.50.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.50 and a 200 day moving average of $25.36. 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 (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 132.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 148.1% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.