Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.64, but opened at $32.81. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $32.53, with a volume of 445,473 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.58.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.