Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price Up 3.4% – Here’s What Happened

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price was up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $35.85 and last traded at $36.00. Approximately 739,867 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,492,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.97 and a beta of 0.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The firm’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 194.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.