BMO Capital Markets Trims Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Target Price to $40.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $42.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Scotiabank cut Murphy Oil from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.67.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.2 %

MUR opened at $36.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 2.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day moving average of $40.69. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $32.53 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $802.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.97 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.32%. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.