Piper Sandler Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $35.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $26.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.72 and its 200 day moving average is $33.89. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $26.47 and a one year high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 2.17.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 815,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $24,672,000 after acquiring an additional 8,666 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $188,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $618,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 64,570 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 13,275 shares during the period. 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.